Before Reacher became a major success on Prime Video, the character had already been adapted for the big screen. Two of Lee Child’s novels, One Shot and Never Go Back, were turned into films starring Tom Cruise—a casting choice that sparked controversy among fans due to the significant height difference between Cruise and the towering Jack Reacher from the books. Following a middling reception to Never Go Back—although not for Cruise, whose performances were the perfect level of intensity for the character, just not in terms of look—the franchise pivoted to television, a move that both fans and Child himself have come to embrace.
Child, who serves as an executive producer on Reacher, has experienced both film and TV adaptations of his books and, after seeing how the character—now played by the gigantic and charismatic Alan Ritchson—has flourished on streaming, he firmly believes television is the best medium for bringing Reacher to life.
“My preference is for streaming television. Simply for that running time you’ve got. It’s such a luxury. Feature films are so tight that it’s an absolute joy to have time to do all the little bits, the quiet bits, the fun bits, and the tender bits. You know, that feels great.”
He added, “I’m absolutely convinced no book author would ever do a feature film in preference to that.” While Child acknowledges that films can be great in their own way, he feels that streaming TV allows for a more faithful adaptation of his novels.
Will ‘One Shot’ and ‘Never Go Back’ Be Revisited?
With Reacher renewed for a fourth season even before the third season’s debut, fans have wondered whether the show might eventually adapt One Shot and Never Go Back—the books that served as the basis for Cruise’s movies.
“In my mind, they’re not done now,” said Child. “I would revisit them absolutely, but I think not as a matter of urgency. Let’s do something that hasn’t been done in any medium yet. But yeah, I would certainly do the ones that were features, but they’re on the back burner, rather than the next one.”
This means that while Prime Video’s Reacher will likely tackle those stories at some point, the immediate focus is on adapting novels that have never been brought to screen before. For now, Reacher‘s first three seasons are available to stream on Prime Video, with new episodes of Season 3 dropping every Thursday.
Reacher
- Release Date
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February 3, 2022
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Nick Santora
Source: TechRadar
