Tom Cruise to Be Replaced in ‘Jack Reacher’ Reboot

Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher franchise is getting a major makeover, by recasting the titular role of Mr. Reacher. That means Cruise is now out after two movies, and a new actor will be taking over the character for the upcoming Jack Reacher TV Reboot.

BBC has the report of Cruise’s official exit from the Reacher franchise, with the new outlet reaching out to Jack Reacher creator and novel series author, Lee Child for comment. As Child tells it, this is a case where size does matter:

“I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He’s a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun,” Child told the station. But ultimately the readers are right. The size of Reacher is really, really important and it’s a big component of who he is. The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you’re all a little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all his talent, didn’t have that physicality.”

Indeed, the Jack Reacher novels have always maintained that the ex-military policeman is a hulking figure, standing at 6’5″, with large muscles and hands. When the first Jack Reacher movie was announced with Cruise in the starring role, longtime fans of the books all but rioted, claiming the film franchise was D.O.A., due to the gross miscasting.

Well, Child seems to have learned from past mistakes: not only will the new TV Jack Reacher be much more in line with the books, but Child will apparently also be letting Reacher fans be a part of the casting process:

“…what I’ve decided to do is – there won’t be any more movies with Tom Cruise. Instead we’re going to take it to Netflix or something like that. Long form streaming television, with a completely new actor. And I want all those readers who were upset about Tom Cruise to help me out – participate in choosing the right actor for the TV series. We’re rebooting and starting over and we’re going to try and find the perfect guy.”

Already fans have started tossing out names of potential new Reacher actors, with names like Michael Shannon (Man of Steel) and Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) leading the pack at this early stage.

The first Jack Reacher (2012) from Cruise and director Chris McQuarrie made $218M worldwide on a modest $60M budget, and earned McQuarrie the opportunity to make the jump to being a major blockbuster movie director, who now has two successful Mission: Impossible films (Rogue Nation and Fallout) under his belt. The sequel film, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back showed a big drop in returns, earning just $162M on the same $60M budget, despite partnering Cruise with Captain America and Avengers actress, Cobie Smulders. The sequel film also marked a serious cold streak for Cruise at the box (see also: American Made and The Mummy).

What do you think of this new lease on life for Jack Reacher – and who would you pick to play the character? Let us know in the comments!