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Edgar Wright has begun his press race for his new adaptation of The Running Man, and with it comes yet another chance for him to be probed about the prospect of making a sequel to one part of his Cornetto Trilogy. In this case, it's Shaun of the Dead, his rom-zom-com that now stands as one of the greatest horror comedies of all time. It's also a film that, even after more than two decades, Wright has absolutely no intention of revisiting.
In an interview with Polygon, Wright explained that he never considered getting a second round of pints in at the Winchester and that Shaun's (Simon Pegg) adventure ended where we left him – sat in the shed with his best mate, Ed (Nick Frost). "We weren't really interested in doing it because we didn't think there was any more story to tell," Wright explained, breaking down the common issue that can occur when films get follow-ups.
"There are a lot of franchises where the sequels don't really earn their keep because all the story has been told in the first movie," Wright added. "When a character has gone through a massive change, it's very difficult to have a second installment. Shaun of the Dead has him going from being a kind of sad sack to being a hero by the end of the movie. So it's very difficult to start the next movie when there's no obvious arc. We are very happy with it being a one-and-done."
In terms of Wright revisiting stories, The Running Man is the closest thing we've got from the director, who didn't set out to retread Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 action movie, but instead to adapt more closely to the book of the same name written by Stephen King. The novel was initially released under King's pseudonym of Richard Bachman, who praised Wright on his handling of the script (particularly its ending). You'll get to see how he's handled things when the film arrives in theaters on November 14.
