Having previously been played by Tom Cruise on screen, Jack Reacher’s return to screens in the Amazon Prime series Reacher has seen the role taken over by Alan Ritchson, and it is a change that has pleased the character’s creator, Lee Child. According to reports, Child was never quite satisfied with the big-screen iteration of Reacher, with Tom Cruise being very different in stature to the hulking, imposing figure Jack Reacher is described as in the novels.
Speaking in an interview with Metro.co.uk, Child explained about the reimagining of Jack Reacher when it came to the development of the series and the move from big-name star Cruise to Ritchson, who is best known for his roles in Titans, Smallville and Blue Mountain State. The change of lead pleased Child, as he was able to see the character he wrote on the page come to life on the screen. He said:
“I think that the size thing is important to certain parts of the narrative. Reacher has got to scare people and you can do that so much easier with one glance of this huge animal rather than a normal-sized actor.”
While Cruise’s turn as Reacher was not a complete failure, he can hardly be described as an intimidating powerhouse. In the movies Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Cruise’s take on the character could undoubtedly handle himself in one-on-one combat, but he didn’t play the part of a character who could put fear into someone by their “animalistic” appearance. That has undoubtedly been put straight in the Amazon Prime series, as there is no one who would willingly want to take on Ritchson’s take on Reacher.
Reacher May Not Have a Big Hollywood Star, But Alan Ritchson Makes a Big Impact
Many novel adaptations have needed a big name attached to them in order to gain attention at the box office, but when it comes to the small screen, it is usually more about telling the story in a way that pleases fans of the source material first and provides enough to pull in new audiences as well. While the big-screen outings for Reacher had the pull of Tom Cruise, the Amazon Prime series has been given a solid mark of approval from both audiences and critics, with Ritchson’s version of the former U.S. Army military policeman providing a much more faithful adaptation of the character.
While there were some fans who doubted Ritchson’s ability to pull off the role, when the series arrived, it instantly gained a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and currently sits on an 87% approval rating compared to the 63% achieved by the original Tom Cruise movie, proving that sometimes a big star name isn’t always the best thing to make a novel adaptation a success.
It isn’t currently known whether Ritchson has done enough to secure himself a second season of Reacher on Amazon Prime, but everything certainly seems to be pointing in that direction right now, and there is no doubt that both Child and his fans would both like to see more of the action hero in the future. The first season of Reacher is currently playing on Amazon Prime Video.