Lee Child says he used contract veto to end Tom Cruise's Reacher film series

Centre · 1Author Lee Child told Collider that their original movie contract gave them a veto over further films after two, and that they exercised it once Tom Cruise's second Jack Reacher film was complete. 1 Mixed · 2The first film, Jack Reacher, came out in 2012 and was followed four years later by Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. 1 2 Centre · 1Screen Rant reports the two films earned more than $380 million combined worldwide: $218.3 million for the first against a reported $60 million budget, and $162.1 million for Never Go Back against another $60 million. 3

Centre · 1Child said the films were still valuable to them: after the first came out in December 2012, eight old paperbacks were in the Top 10 by January 2013, which Child said could not be bought or turned down. 1 Mixed · 2Child said readers were a major reason for the decision. Child regarded the films as a version of the stories, with the book as the final product, but said readers felt betrayed that the movies had not mirrored the books more exactly. 1 2 Mixed · 2Collider ties the fan reaction to Cruise looking different from the 6-foot-5 bruiser described in the novels. The A.V. Club quotes the books' description of Reacher as "one of the largest men… ever seen outside the NFL" and notes Child made similar remarks about Cruise's size in 2018, while casting for the TV show was under way. 1 2

Mixed · 2Child also pointed to a changed industry by 2017: broadband and binge television made long-form storytelling possible, letting a story run eight to twelve hours rather than being squeezed into 90 minutes. 1 2 Mixed · 2On money, Child said a film depends on its star to attract the investment, asking "What actor is worth a $200 million investment?", whereas on television the platform pays and unknowns can be cast. 1 2 Centre · 1That freedom led to Prime Video's Reacher with Alan Ritchson, which premiered in 2022 with Killing Floor. Season 4 is streaming and Season 5 has been ordered. 1

Centre · 2Deadline reports that Prime Video renewed Season 5 early in May, before Season 4 premiered in August, and gave Season 6 an early renewal after Season 4 drew 66 million viewers globally in its first 28 days. Season 5 will adapt Make Me (2015), the 12th book, and Screen Rant says it is currently filming. 4 3 Left · 1The A.V. Club notes that Child has said they personally enjoyed working with Cruise and that the decision was not just about Cruise. It adds that Cruise is not short of work. 2 Centre · 1Screen Rant adds that Cruise went on to make three more Mission: Impossible films, and that his latest film, Digger, holds a 51% critic score and a 71% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. 3

Centre · 1Child spoke to Collider ahead of the new Reacher novel Chain Reaction, due 20 October. Child will also co-write Zero Margin, the first Frances Neagley novel, with Yasmin Angoe, due in spring 2027. 1