Reacherhas been a runaway success for Prime Video, but the character seemed destined to be known for being a box office drip thanks to Tom Cruise’s second outing as Lee Child’s action hero inJack Reacher: Never Go Back. Addressing the poor performance of the movie in his new book, directorEdward Zwickopened up about blaming himself for the film’s critical and financial failings.
Jack Reacher 2
Christopher McQuarrie directed the original outing entitledJack Reacherin 2012, with Zwick stepping in to take the helm for the sequel four years later. The decision proved to be a huge misstep for everyone concerned, with the movie landing a poor $162.1 million as its total gross, and effectively ended the franchise. As shared byVariety, Zwick has accepted the responsibility for the failure of the movie in his new book,Hits, Flops and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood. He wrote:
“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which Tom Cruise and I made in 2016, fizzled at the box office. I blame myself (and my willing accomplice, Don Granger) for thinking the audience might enjoy a mash-up of Jack Reacher and Paper Moon, when in fact they just wanted more red meat. I had a wonderful time working with Cobie Smulders, and I certainly don’t blame Tom for not being six two — as the novelist Lee Child described his protagonist — and should Tom happen to call about making a third movie together, I’ll definitely pick up.”
Jack Reacher Has Found Success on Prime Video
For manyReacherfans, there was onefundamental problem with Tom Cruise’s appearances as Reacher– he just didn’t match the physical description of the character that fans demanded. Cruise was able to pull off his usual displace of charisma and stunts,Jack Reacher: Never Go Backtook a hefty amount of criticism for having a lack of energy and being overly predictable.
However, the end of the movie franchise left the way open for someone else to step in and take a shot at bringing the mercenary tough guy to screens again. And that has been done with aplomb by the team behind Prime Video’sReacherseries.
More faithful to Child’s novels, and delivering the perfect embodiment of Jack Reacher in lead Alan Ritchson, the series has achieved huge success across its first two seasons, even if the most recent didn’t quite manage to hit the heights of its predecessor. However,Season 3 ofReacheris currently in production, and will no doubt be looking to break the records set by Season 2.
Jack ReacherandJack Reacher: Never Go Backare both streaming on Paramount+.ReacherSeason1 and Season 2 are available on Prime Video.
