These days, Alan Ritchson is best known for playing Jack Reacher in Amazon’s spy-thriller series, but he’s sporting a very different look in the upcoming movie Motor City. The first image of Ritchson as the main character, John Miller, dropped on Tuesday ahead of the movie’s film festival premiere. While it’s hard to hide the actor’s physique, he still manages to look disheveled with long, unkempt hair and a matching beard, along with scattered tattoos and a rumpled tank top. Motor City has stirred a lot of buzz, as the whole feature-length film reportedly has just five lines of dialogue in total. It will be a test of Ritchson’s chops as a performer, and a break from his cocky spy persona.
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Motor City is an action-thriller set in Detroit, Michigan in the 1970s, and starts with Miller’s release from prison. Once freed, the character “unleashes a rampage of brutal vengeance on those who framed him,” the official synopsis reads. The movie has been hyped up for its “stunningly choreographed and stylized action sequences,” making Ritchson a strong choice for the role. The actor has a strong background in dance, having met his wife in a dance class while in college.
It has been a long road to get Motor City up on the big screen. The script — written by Chad St. John — was included on the 2009 Hollywood Black List, where it drew interest from Warner Bros. It was in development as early as 2011, when Chris Evans was offered the lead role. Ritchson did not get involved until 2023, and even then, it took time for the final line-up to come together. The movie is directed by Potsy Ponciroli, and it also stars Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster, Zoë Kravitz and Pablo Schreiber.
Motor City will have its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival this month, followed closely by its North American premiere at the 40th Toronto International Film Festival. It’s one of the most anticipated titles among critics and other attendees, particularly with its experimental style. Studio executive Jon Berg told Collider that this movie is “somewhere between an opera, a music video, and an action movie,” while Foster added that “it’s like a graphic novel.”
This role is definitely outside the box for Ritchson, whose most notable work so far has been in straightforward action blockbusters. In addition to Reacher, he starred in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fast X, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, among others. He’s not done with that genre, either, as Ritchson is returning for Reacher Season 4 as well as the spinoff series, Neagley, which is in production now.
There’s no word yet on if or when Motor City will get a wider theatrical release, but that may be determined by the responses it gets at film festivals this month. In the meantime, Reacher is streaming now on Prime Video with more seasons on the way.
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