"Jack Reacher" gets TV series, but will Tom Cruise be back to star?

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"Jack Reacher" gets TV series, but will Tom Cruise be back to star?

Writer: Florey DM

Tom Cruise starred as Jack Reacher in both the 2012 eponymous movie and the 2016 sequel.

16 Jul – Jack Reacher's adventures on the big screen may be over but he isn't taking a break just yet, as he is set to be making his small screen debut next.

After author Lee Child announced last year that he will be working with Skydance Television and Paramount Television on a TV series based on his "Jack Reacher" books, The Hollywood Reporter now brings word that Amazon Studios has won the rights for it for its Prime Video platform.

Amazon Studios is producing alongside the two aforementioned production companies, which it also collaborates with on the TV adaptation of Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan" that is now heading into its third season.

The big question now is: will Tom Cruise be back as Jack Reacher?

The 57-year-old first portrayed the title character in 2012's "Jack Reacher" and later reprised it for the 2016 sequel, "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back".

It seems like Cruise might really not go back as some of the novel series' avid readers have previously expressed dissatisfaction over his casting – mainly because he's too short for the role.

Tom Cruise failed to impress some moviegoers with his Jack Reacher portrayal.

While Reacher is described as 190cm tall in the books, Cruise's height is only around 170cm.

Child has defended the actor's casting before, saying that the height didn't matter as Reacher's height in the book was more of a metaphor for "an unstoppable force". He later backtracked when he announced last November that the readers were right after all, so there will be no more movie adaptations with Cruise in the lead role.

However, seeing how Cruise is still a bankable action star, Child might have a change a mind again and recast Cruise for the role, especially considering Christopher McQuarrie, one of Cruise's frequent collaborators, is an executive producer for the series.

McQuarrie's first project starring Cruise was 2008's "Valkyrie" and the latest is next year's "Top Gun: Maverick", both of which he scripted. He's also directed Cruise in the first "Jack Reacher" – he only served as producer for the sequel – and two "Mission: Impossible" movies.

Until a lead actor is announced, there's still hope for Cruise's fans to see the actor back as Jack Reacher.

Cinema Online, 16 July 2019