Actor Glen Powell says Hollywood heavyweight Arnold Schwarzenegger approved the upcoming remake of his 1987 action film The Running Man, thanks to The White Lotus star and the veteran's son Patrick Schwarzenegger.

In Edgar Wright's iteration of the movie, Powell takes on the role of Ben Richards, a character originally played by Schwarzenegger. Powell, who is friends with Patrick Schwarzenegger, also co-starred with Schwarzenegger in The Expendables 3 (2014).

The Anyone But You star said he and Wright spoke to the action icon via FaceTime before the remake began filming. "Arnold gave us his blessing. Patrick Schwarzenegger is a great friend of mine and I asked Patrick if I could talk to Arnold and I hadn't seen Arnold since we shot Expendables in Bulgaria.

"Arnold gave us his full blessing and we got to give Arnold a very specific fun gift from the movie in a couple of weeks here. So I'm very excited to see him,” Powell told the People magazine.

Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the original Running Man featured Schwarzenegger as a man taking part in a game show where convicted criminals are hunted by professional killers. It was directed by Paul Michael Glaser.

The remake of The Running Man is set to be released in theatres on November 7.