'Jack Reacher' Reboot to Replace Tom Cruise With a More Physically Imposing Actor

He believes Cruise is too short to play the imposing lead.

November 15, 2018

Jack Reacher is being rebooted. And the action hero role won't go back to Tom Cruise. Reacher creator Lee Child revealed a bit about the return of his traveling mystery solver in an interview with BBC Radio Manchester.

In the interview, Child said he wants to spread out with a long-form television series starring someone a bit more imposing than the 5'7 Cruise.

“I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He’s a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun,” Child said. "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."

Child said that Cruise "didn't have that physicality" so they'll be looking for big, bad dudes when the character returns.

"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.”

In spite of Cruise's physical limitations, fans were suitably convinced to the tune of $218 million with the first Jack Reacher film. The second film Jack Reacher: Never Go Back didn't fare as well after receiving a muted reception from critics. It's more likely that Child is looking for a smaller budget for his small-screen Reacher, just in case it fares poorly. That puts Cruise out long before you bust out the measuring tape.