Why Tom Cruise could never be as good a Reacher as Alan Ritchson, explains creator Lee Child

The third season of Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels is currently streaming on the platform. The critically acclaimed show has earned praise for its tone and the casting of its lead, Alan Ritchson. The role was famously played by Tom Cruise in the two Jack Reacher films. Now, Child has addressed the comparisons, saying the readers of the books were right to disapprove of Tom. (Also read: Reacher star Alan Ritchson on replacing Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher: 'Enough people believe I am the right choice')

Lee Child on the Tom Cruise vs Alan Ritchson debate

Tom Cruise played the military investigator in two films - Jack Reacher (2012) and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016). While the films were successful, many fans of the books felt that the 5-foot-7 Tom was a miscast as Reacher, who is described in the books as a 6-foot-5 behemoth bending steel rods with his bare hands.

In a conversation with the Independent, author Lee Child addressed the backlash and said, “I thought the first movie in particular was excellent. It was a really crisp, hard-edged thriller. Working with Tom was a pleasure and a privilege – he’s a really smart guy, he’s a smart filmmaker, he’s real fun. But you cannot escape the fact that Reacher is a huge guy. I mean, that is a component in his entire approach to the world and the world’s approach to him. He’s huge, he’s implacable, he’s scary, and for all Tom’s ability in getting the internals of Reacher out, he is not huge and he’s not scary. So the readers were terribly upset about it, and I think, ultimately, the readers were right.”

For the show, which premiered in 2022, the makers went with Alan Ritchson, who is closer to Jack Reacher's build and height. “Alan was born to play Reacher, and I think he knows that,” Lee Child said, adding, “There are very few actors even Alan’s size, so to get somebody who is noticeably bigger was incredibly difficult. But they found the guy. He is huge! And very scary.”

About Reacher season 3

Reacher has been developed by Nick Santora. The show premiered on Prime Video in 2022 with a second season releasing in 2023. The third season was released last week. A spinoff series, Neagley, is currently in production.