“Welcome to America in 2025, when the best men don’t run for president—they run for their lives.”

That’s the tagline of Stephen King‘s original novella, The Running Man — a story getting a second big-screen adaptation this week courtesy of filmmaker Edgar Wright. King’s story is set in 2025, and it feels like the future the writer envisioned isn’t quite as dystopian now as it probably seemed when it was published in 1982. In fact, it feels uncomfortably close to our current societal situation. Written under the author’s pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Running Man concerns an all-powerful Network run by the rich and powerful that controls everything, including the narrative of “facts” being fed to the population. Sound familiar?

Although the fact that this cinematic version is hitting screens in the year it was initially set is a happy coincidence, Wright is aware of how prescient the narrative feels and how audiences might react quite differently now than they did in the past. The thriller also marks the filmmaker’s largest production yet, featuring hundreds of locations and an impressive cast of A-listers, including Glen Powell, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin. For fans of his previous films, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The Cornetto Trilogy, there are touches here too that are pure Wright — from familiar favourite actors like Michael Cera to a host of Easter Eggs that will take several viewings to uncover. The result is a tense adventure that is part sci-fi and part contemporary commentary, with impressive needle drops and world-building along the way.

Wright stopped by Toronto on his Running Man press tour, to surprise audiences at preview screenings and to spend time with local press. Managing Editor Emma Badame sat down with him to talk music, movie stars (we’re looking at you, Glen Powell), and what’s next on the agenda for the filmmaker. Watch the full interview below now:

The Running Man hit theatres nationwide on November 14.