Cast This: Jack Reacher

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After two feature-films which starred Tom Cruise as the title character, Amazon Studios is moving forward with a TV series based upon Lee Child's best-selling series of Jack Reacher novels. Nick Santora, best known for his work on Prison Break, Breakout Kings, and Scorpion, is set to pen the series, as well as serve as executive producer and showrunner. The first season will be based upon "The Killing Floor," the first novel in the Jack Reacher series. "Lee Child has created an incredible character and world; it will be the goal of every writer, producer, actor, executive and crew member to capture the essence of Mr. Child’s books – and luckily Lee has been there, and will continue to be there, to help guide us along the way in this series. He is the pulse of Reacher," said Nick Santora in a statement. Lee Child, who will also be executive producing the Jack Reacher series, added, "It's been great so far, but really, the fun starts here. By now I know these guys, and Reacher is in the perfect hands, believe me."

After serving in the U.S. Army as a Major in the Military Police Corps, Jack Reacher left the service in his mid 30s and began roaming the United States taking odd jobs and investigating various suspicious and dangerous situations. During an interview with The Atlas Society, Lee Childs explained Reacher's obsession not staying anywhere for too long.

He's an ex-military policeman, and he was demobilized in his middle thirties after having served all of his adult life in the [U.S.] Army and having grown up on Marine bases, because his father was a Marine. The idea was to have a character that was plausibly rootless. Most people who are wanderers do it for other reasons—they are mentally ill, or something like that. Reacher is completely competent, but he's just habituated to this fragmented life in the military, so he can't settle into civilian society. The idea of staying anywhere for more than a few days is anathema to him.

One of the more distinctive aspects of Jack Reacher is his sheer size, as he's described in the novels as standing 6'5" with "a six-pack like a cobbled city street" and hands "the size of dinner plates." If you're only familiar with the JACK REACHER movies, you can certainly understand why fans were questioning when Tom Cruise was cast in the role. Although Lee Childs enjoyed working with Cruise on the movies, he later agreed with those who deemed the actor to be physically unsuitable. "I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He's a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun. But ultimately the readers are right," said Childs. "The size of Reacher is really, really important and it's a big component of who he is. The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you're all a little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all his talent, didn't have that physicality." When it comes to the Amazon series, Childs has previously stated that they would like to cast a physically appropriate actor in the role. It's too early to say for certain whether the Amazon production will follow through in that regard, but let's throw in our two-cents and help to decide which actor would be the best fit for Jack Reacher. As usual, I'll toss out a few suggestions to get your started.

For my first pick, I'll go with Kevin Durand (The Strain), an underrated actor who has proven again and again that he knows his way around hard-hitting action. Although he's been featured in many movies and TV shows over the years, he hasn't had much opportunity to headline his own show, so taking on Jack Reacher for Amazon would certainly give him the chance to stretch his talent. Next up we have Joe Manganiello (True Blood), an imposing actor who certainly has the physicality of Jack Reacher down. For my final suggestion, I'll go for someone a little leaner and meaner with Joel Kinnaman (THE SUICIDE SQUAD).

Remember, you're free to suggest anyone in the comments, so let your inner casting director run wild!

Previously on Cast This, you were asked to fill the role of James Bond, the secret agent who has been played by a variety of actors over the decades, including Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig. As usual, you came through with plenty of great suggestions for the role, including Tom Hardy (VENOM 2), Henry Cavill (The Witcher), and Idris Elba (HOBBS & SHAW).