Lest you feel that Tom Cruise is only devoting sequel time to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, it looks like JACK REACHER 2 will begin shooting in November with director Edward Zwick.
The first film, written and directed by MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE ROGUE NATION's Christopher McQuarrie, proved to be a modest success and pulled in about $218 million worldwide. Part 2, to be modeled after "Never Go Back," is said to follow Reacher as he heads back to his old military base in Virginia to take a woman to dinner who is now the commanding officer. By the time he gets there, she has been arrested, and Reacher finds himself being charged with pummeling one guy and fathering a child with a woman. He can’t remember either transgression but gets to the bottom of it with cunning and sometimes brute force. Or in Cruise's case…5'7" force.
Cruise and Zwick previously collaborated together on the 19th century epic, THE LAST SAMURAI. While not presenting the world with a completely fresh story, it was wrapped in one hell of an entertaining package. If McQuarrie's not interested in returning to Reacher, I'd say they found a great replacement. I'm aware that Tom Cruise lacks the physicality of his book counterpart, but he certainly carried the personality and the moves with expertise. Count me in!
JACK REACHER 2 will be released sometime in 2016.