Reacher - What We Know So Far

The future of the "Jack Reacher" franchise continues to take shape as more casting news emerges. Production on "Reacher" has been underway for over a year, following the announcement that Amazon locked in the rights for "Jack Reacher" back in July 2019. Since then, "Reacher" has found the star who will take over the Jack Reacher mantle from Tom Cruise, who originated the role in 2012's "Jack Reacher." Directed by frequent Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, "Jack Reacher" introduced audiences to Jack Reacher, a former military policeman who has evolved into a toughened drifter and always manages to find himself in the center of intense situations. Cruise reprised the character in the Ed Zwick-directed "Jack Reacher: Never Look Back" in 2016. 

Fans were initially introduced to the character through British novelist Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel, published in the late '90s. Child has kept his crime thriller series going since that time with 23 novels written to date. The "Jack Reacher" franchise has attracted a large fanbase over the years, with Child's book series selling more than 100 million copies (via Forbes) and the "Jack Reacher" movies grossing more than $380 million worldwide combined (via Deadline).

Child will also serve as an executive producer, as will McQuarrie. "Reacher" is the result of Child's partnership with Paramount Television and Skydance Television back in 2018. At the time the partnership was announced, it was simultaneously confirmed that the "Jack Reacher" movies would end as the character was transitioned to television. The "Reacher" TV show will be written, executive-produced, and run by Nick Santora ("Punisher: War Zone"). The first season of "Reacher" will be seven episodes long.

Here's what else we know about "Reacher," from its expected release date to casting and beyond.

No official release date has been set for "Reacher," but we can take an educated stab at the release date because we know the upcoming Amazon show is in the midst of filming. Per Canadian outlet The Peterborough Examiner, it appears "Reacher" will be filming at least some portion of the show in the Ontario city, as well as the province of Ontario in general. Additionally, we know filming began in mid-April and will wrap at the end of July (via Otakukart). This means "Reacher" will have a fairly fast-paced shoot for a TV show, barring any changes to the shooting schedule that would push filming over that July 30 end date.

If "Reacher" stays on schedule and wraps filming in July, then we could expect a spring 2022 premiere at the earliest. The time spent between July 2021 and early to mid-2022 would be spent editing the episodes and promoting the upcoming series, hence the long window of time built into this estimate. We also know the first season of "Reacher" will be seven episodes long, which means the show could wrap in late spring or early summer 2022.

The first major casting news for "Reacher" arrived via Deadline in September 2020. Alan Ritchson was announced as the new Reacher, taking over the role originally played by Cruise. If the name doesn't immediately ring a bell, let his onscreen credits jog your memory. You might know Ritchson from popular fare, including "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," the 2014 live-action "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," or the DC TV series "Titans." While Ritchson is a talented guy, it would be fair to say he's been mostly sidelined in fairly archetypal roles where he gets to play the handsome, athletic guys who are here to save the day. Granted, that was probably a factor in his "Reacher" casting, but, crucially, Ritchson will get a chance to prove himself as the lead in his own high-profile TV series. It also doesn't hurt that Ritchson is more on par with Child's description of Jack: a 6'5" man who has a military background and looks like it, too.

Additional "Reacher" cast members were announced in June 2021 (via Deadline). Joining Ritchson in "Reacher" is Marc Bendavid ("Dark Matter") as Hubble, an accountant caught up in shady business dealings. Kristin Kreuk ("Smallville") plays Charlie, a tougher-than-she-looks former debutante who is also Hubble's wife. Harvey Guillen ("What We Do in the Shadows") will play Jasper, the medical examiner who is unsettled by the string of murders in town. Willie C. Carpenter ("Devious Maids") will play Mosley, the town barber who becomes an ally of Reacher's. Currie Graham ("Murder in the First") plays Kliner Sr., a local businessman who saved the town of Margrave from ruin but who also has a darker side. Maxwell Jenkins ("Lost in Space"), who will play a younger version of Reacher.

Season 1 of "Reacher" will adapt the story at the heart of Lee Child's first Jack Reacher novel, "The Killing Floor." Published in 1997, "The Killing Floor" introduces us to the titular Jack Reacher, an ex-military policeman who now makes his way through the world as a drifter. While passing through the small town of Margrave, Georgia, Jack is arrested and charged with murder. Following his arrest, Jack must figure out a way to prove his innocence in this particular case while dealing with his haunting past (via Goodreads).

While "Reacher" will primarily source its story from the events detailed in "The Killing Floor," it's also very possible the Amazon show will pull from one or a combination of the three prequel novels which, in the Jack Reacher timeline, give readers insight into Jack's life before Margrave. Those three novels are: "The Enemy," which is set eight years before "The Killing Floor"; "Night School," which is set one year before "The Killing Floor," and "The Affair," which is set six months before "The Killing Floor."