Ben Wang in “The Long Walk.”
Lionsgate/Murray Close
Ben Wang, one of the stars of the film adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel The Long Walk, said he’s proud to be involved in the new dystopian thriller.
Released in theaters nationwide on Friday, The Long Walk marks Wang’s second major film in four months. In May, Karate Kid: Legends — which stars Wang opposite Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan and Ming Na Wen — was released and went on to be a worldwide hit.
In the dystopian thriller, a group of teenage boys compete in an annual competition called “The Long Walk,” which awards a huge cash prize for the person who wins the grueling competition. The loss by the other competitors comes with a deadly price. Once any of them falls below the minimum walking speed of three miles per hour, they are executed.
Wang plays Hank Olson, #46, in The Long Walk. The film also stars Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Roman Griffin Davis, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, Josh Hamilton, Judy Greer and Mark Hamill.
In a recent Zoom conversation about his starring role in Karate Kid: Legends, Wang explained the reason for The Long Walk’s R rating.
“I’m so excited for people to see the film,” Wang said. “It’s based on a Stephen King book and tonally it’s dark, it’s brutal, and from a filmmaking perspective and cinematic perspective it’s an actor’s movie … it’s such a dark, brutal story and the concept is really simple, but there’s a beauty in that simplicity.”
Ben Wang Says ‘The Long Walk’ Follows In The Tradition Of Another Stephen King Story-Turned-Movie
Wang said that The Long Walk reminds him of another film based on King’s writing, The Body, which was one of the four short stories in the author’s acclaimed novella Different Seasons. The novella was released in 1982, three years after the release of The Long Walk novel.
“The Long Walk is an ensemble movie, and the young cast in that film they’ve put together, it was really a privilege to be in it with them and work with them,” Wang said. “I feel like this film follows in the tradition of movies like Stand By Me — those kinds of films where it introduced a young acting ensemble and everybody is so incredibly talented.”
The Long Walk was adapted for the screen by Strange Darling writer-director JT Mollner and is directed by Francis Lawrence, who has helmed several films in The Hunger Games movie franchise.
Wang is reteaming with Lawrence to play Wyatt Callow in the next Hunger Games prequel movie, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, which also stars Ralph Fiennes, McKenna Grace, Elle Fanning, Lily Taylor, Maya Hawke, Kieran Culkin and Jesse Plemons.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping is currently set to be released on Nov. 20, 2026. The Long Walk is new in theaters and Karate Kid: Legends is available for purchase or rent on video on demand and will begin streaming on Netflix later this month.