Reacher has essentially ruled out a remake of one of the Tom Cruise movies, but this may have been a premature move. Tom Cruise’s casting in Jack Reacher was deeply controversial at the time – and has remained so. Cruise was nobody’s idea of the hulking avenger, so when Alan Ritchman inherited the part for Amazon’s Reacher, devotees felt much better. There are plenty of other differences between the projects; the Jack Reacher movies were saddled with PG-13 ratings, while Amazon’s show could be as violent and profane as they wish.

Each season runs for eight episodes, which also allows the show to be more faithful to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books. Cruise’s movies covered One Shot and Never Go Back respectively, while Reacher season 1 adapted Killing Floor, while series 2 brought Bad Luck and Trouble to life. The upcoming season 3 is adapting Persuader, where Ritchson’s title character goes deep undercover with a gun smuggler and his family. Each season has mixed up the basic formula, bringing out different shades of Reacher as a character.

Reacher Season 2 Confirmed The Events Of One Shot Happened Offscreen

Bad Luck and Trouble took One Shot off the table

Cruise’s Jack Reacher adapted the ninth novel, where Reacher looks into a mass shooting and uncovers the ugly conspiracy behind it. One Shot was a great thriller and one that allowed the character to be a detective and kick plenty of asses. Cruise’s recasting with Ritchson as Reacher had to be handled delicately, and the show all but ruled out a fresh take on One Shot during the second season. During the episode “What Happens in Atlantic City,” Reacher states to his team he ran into sniper James Barr between series and that “He owes me now.”

Every Jack Reacher Movie & Show

Book Adapted

Jack Reacher (2012)
One Shot (2005)

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
Never Go Back (2013)

Reacher: Season 1 (2022)
Killing Floor (1997)

Reacher: Season 2 (2023-2024)
Bad Luck and Trouble (2007)

Reacher: Season 3 (2025)
Persuader (2003)

In the One Shot book and its 2012 adaptation, Barr was the infantry sniper framed for the killings, and Reacher helped clear his name. With this throwaway reference, Reacher all confirmed the events of One Shot happened between seasons 1 and 2, so they could avoid the inevitable comparison between Cruise and Ritchson. This feels like a smart move ultimately, and since there are close to 30 novels to cover, there’s no danger of Amazon’s series running short of source material.

Jack Reacher director Christopher McQuarrie later lamented that he wasn’t allowed to make his film R-rated, as he wanted it to pay homage to the gritty thrillers of the 1970s (via Empire ).

One Shot Could Have Shown Off The Detective Side Of Alan Ritchson’s Reacher

Reacher has the mind of Sherlock Holmes with the body of Dolph Lundgren

 The first two seasons of Reacher have seen Ritchson’s protagonist use his brains and brawn – though not entirely in equal measure. In the novels, Reacher is a more reserved, interior figure, to the point where the classic line “Reacher said nothing” is almost a mantra. Readers get inside his thought process far more than either the movies or show can depict, but One Shot would have been a perfect book for Amazon’s Reacher to get into the detective side of his brain.

Both Killing Floor and Bad Luck and Trouble had mysteries of their own to solve, but One Shot is a good, old-fashioned yarn that lets Jack dust off his 110th Special Investigator skills. Season 3 will be an interesting switch-up, as Persuader is practically about Reacher becoming a method actor, and how he barely stays one step ahead of being discovered by his new employers. It’s an intense, claustrophobic thriller, but Reacher season 4 giving viewers more of a mystery box – like One Shot – to unpack would be a nice change of pace.

Why One Shot Would Have Been Worth Adapting, Even After Tom Cruise’s Movie

Maybe Reacher season 4 should get more Personal

It would be a case of risk versus reward, but outside the endless articles that would compare Ritchson’s version to Cruise, Reacher could still have taken another crack at One Shot. There was only so much the 2012 film could cover, while Amazon’s show could have restored deleted characters and subplots. If anything, it would have been interesting to contrast how the movie and series took different approaches to One Shot, and where they deviate.

… One Shot is almost certainly never getting readapted – though season 4 could attempt a soft remake.

Season 2’s easter egg means One Shot is almost certainly never getting re-adapted – though season 4 could attempt a soft remake. The 19th Reacher novel Personal sees the anti-hero chasing after a sniper who also has a vendetta against him. Personal covers some similar beats to One Shot, so if a future season wanted to mash the two together, they could remake the Cruise film in a very roundabout way.

In all likelihood, that won’t happen. Followers of Child’s creation would rather see live-action takes on Tripwire, 61 Hours or Worth Dying For before that. Whatever gripes certain fans might have about Cruise’s casting, the first Jack Reacher is a great little thriller and did a good job condensing the story to feature length. It would be intriguing to see Reacher re-adapt One Shot – but like the titular nomad, the franchise is moving onto new adventures.