Alan Ritchson went from little-known actor to household name when he nabbed the title role in Prime Video’s “Reacher,” a weekly crime procedural and small-screen adaptation of the pulp thriller novels by Lee Child. Though once adapted into two films starring Tom Cruise, the franchise stalled after 2012’s “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” which was a box office disappointment in comparison to its self-titled, more successful predecessor.
After a hiatus, it was decided that a TV series might be a better home for the exploits of Jack Reacher. Currently heading toward its fourth season, “Reacher” has become one of Prime Video’s biggest hits, and it’s fair to wonder if the producers could attempt to take the character back to the movies to score some big box office bucks. Ritchson himself was asked about the possibility by Men’s Journal, but feels that TV is where Reacher belongs.
“I can’t speak to movies,” he told the magazine. “I enjoy the format that we’ve got so much, and it works so well where we [adapt] a book a season. I think eight episodes seem to be the perfect amount of time to break out a book.” Ritchson suggested that trying to cram a full novel into a two-hour runtime isn’t ideal — and perhaps a reason why the show has been better reviewed than the Tom Cruise films.
Don’t break Reacher if it ain’t broke
There’s logic to the idea that when something is a success, you don’t want to mess with it too much. After all, sometimes the best thing to do when you’re cruising along is to let it ride. And trying to change it just for the sake of changing it can often lead to disaster. “Reacher” star Alan Ritchson is apparently one of those who lives by that age-old maxim.
“I don’t know if I’d fight for films,” Ritchson told Men’s Journal. “I like being able to weave in what feels like two, three, or four films around ‘Reacher’ throughout the year.” As Ritchson put it, there’s no need to meddle with the success they are having: “I’m happy with the way things are.”
Still, it may be hard for the bean counters at Amazon to totally discount the possibility. After all, there have been plenty of TV shows that released a movie in the middle of their run, so why not “Reacher”? If the studio does opt to go that route, though, it sounds like they may have to do some convincing if they’re going to get their star actor onboard.