Sophia Arndt

Minnesota local Ben Wang plays Hank Olson in the film adaptation of “The Long Walk,” one of the first novels ever written by horror icon Stephen King.

Originally published by The Minnesota Daily on September 9, 2025

By Sophia Arndt

Almost 50 years after it was originally written, Stephen King’s horror-thriller “The Long Walk” will make its film debut on Sept. 12, with Minnesota local actor Ben Wang playing a pivotal role in the dystopian challenge.

The film follows a group of 50 young men, each representing their state in the annual Long Walk. Their goal is simple: be the last one walking.

If they fall below the speed limit of 3 mph, receive three
warnings or step off the road, and their ticket is punched.
Win, and they are rewarded with a cash prize and one wish
granted by the General, played by Mark Hamill.

Despite the crumbling landscape and worsening conditions, the audience watches a small brotherhood form, made up of Cooper Hoffman as Ray Garraty, David Jonsson as Peter McVries, Tut Nyuot as Arthur Baker and Ben Wang as Hank Olson.

Growing up in Northfield, Minnesota, Wang graduated from Northfield High School before studying musical theater at New York University. As well as his work on this film, Wang has starred in “Karate Kid: Legends” and has been announced as Wyatt Callow in “The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reaping.”

“I don’t know what it’s like to be in a sadistic death march in real life,” Wang said. “But I did read about these kinds of experiences. And when groups of people have to endure something together in which survival is not guaranteed, tight bonds do develop.”

These bonds are the strength of the film, as the boys grow closer despite the risk of death. The poignant theme was evident in the novel King wrote at 19, as a college student living in the turmoil of the Vietnam War and the ongoing military draft.

As an audience member, you’re aware of the tragic ramifications of each friendship formed.

Each lighthearted moment has an undercurrent of tension, as the boys discuss what they will wish for should they win and the circumstances that led them to the deadly march.

Wang said the cast grew close, as they filmed chronologically and each step was taken together. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Garrett Wareing, who plays Stebbins, said the cast would walk around 15 miles a day in the isolated Canadian landscape where they filmed.

“It felt like a weird summer camp,” Wang said about filming. “It was summer, and we were staying in these little triangular huts in a circle. We’d sit at the top of the ski slope, and we’d look down on just 500 miles of flat Saskatchewan and feel like brothers.”

In preparation for the film, Wang said he based the voice of Hank on films from the ’60s and ’70s to mirror the ambiguous time period of the book and film.

“Everything was built from scratch as I was discovering the character, and as I was discovering the relationship between Hank and the other boys,” Wang said.

Despite having significant differences from the original novel, director Francis Lawrence and his crew once again excel and capture the heart of the source material. Having directed “The Hunger Games” franchise, Lawrence is an adept storyteller in the dystopian coming-of-age realm.

Wang, having filmed “The Long Walk” and cast as Wyatt Callow in the upcoming prequel “Sunrise of the Reaping,” was familiar with Lawrence’s directorial signature.

While Wang and Lawrence’s prequel project is still firmly under wraps, the horror-thriller “The Long Walk” releases in theaters Friday, Sept. 12.