‘Jack Reacher’ Sequel Gets Release Date

Paramount have announced a release date for the second Jack Reacher film. According to Variety, Jack Reacher 2 will be hitting cinema screens on October 21, 2016.

The new film is being adapted from Lee Child’s novel Never Go Back, the 18th book in the best-selling Jack Reacher series. The news comes a week before Lee Child’s 20th Reacher book, Make Me, is released worldwide.

Original director Chris McQuarrie (Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation) will not be returning, but the new film sees Ed Zwick (Blood Diamond) reunite with Tom Cruise for the first time since The Last Samurai in 2003. Marshall Herskovitz will be joining them as the scriptwriter.

In the novel, Reacher returns to Virginia for a long-awaited meeting with Major Susan Turner, who is now the commanding officer at the 110th MP, the closest thing to home that Reacher ever had. The conclusion of a four novel arc, Never Go Back is the final story, where Reacher discovers Susan has been arrested and replaced as commanding officer. When he arrives, he finds a new face behind the desk, one who quickly holds Reacher accountable for a 16-year-old homicide and fathering a child, neither of which Jack recollects. In true Reacher style, he soon starts to investigate…

For fans of Reacher, filming the conclusion of this story arc suggests the other three books — 61 Hours, Worth Dying For and A Wanted Man — could be in contention for possible development. Tom Cruise was a polarizing choice for the main character back in 2012. Reacher, a former military policeman turned drifter, stands at 6-foot-5 in the books, compared to Cruise’s small size of 5-foot-7. Cruise, though, managed to bring an intensity to the screen that brought the character to life, something Lee Child was happy with and confirmed with Time Magazine.

“Cruise is a character actor. He really gets into a role. He can understand the role. He can project the vibe.”

Paramount were initially skeptical about filming a second Jack Reacher movie after the started poorly at the box office. It did recover to gross $218.3 million at the box office on a $60 million budget, which led to the green light for the sequel to enter production. The first film was also affected by the Connecticut school shootings — Jack Reacher features a tension-filled sniping scene in its opening — and was delayed and even postponed in some cinemas. The Guardian covered the incident back in 2012.

Jack Reacher 2 (title to be confirmed) will be released on October 21, 2016.

[Image – Paramount Pictures]