Christopher Reeve's version of The Running Man
https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57805
Actor Christopher Reeve was originally signed to play the lead, as reported in the 12 Aug 1985 LAHExam. Shooting was set to start in Sep 1985 according to a 12 Aug 1985 DV casting notice, but was postponed until Jan 1986 with location shooting scheduled to take place primarily in the West Edmonton Mall, a giant shopping mall in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta, Canada, according to the 3 Sep 1985 HR.
By Jan 1986, Reeve was out and Arnold Schwarzenegger was in, as was reported in an 8 Jan 1986 LADN brief. An article in the 17 Oct 1986 L.A. Weekly explained that with the change of stars, the film evolved from a dark allegory to an action thriller with humor. The Reeve version had been about an unemployed man who goes on a violent game show for a thirty-day period to feed his family. However, with Schwarzenegger, the protagonist became a condemned, but innocent, criminal forced onto a three-hour gladiator-style game show by the justice system. Between Reeve and Schwarzenegger, screenwriter Steven E. de Souza wrote fifteen drafts of the script.
Sounds like Reeve's version wouldve been closer to the book, a more serious/dark take.When it became an Arnold film it was tailored toward his persona and more action,fun, one liners etc (similar thing happened with Total Recall which Reeve was initially attached to in the 80s) share