Lee Child, the author of the acclaimed Jack Reacher novel series, has addressed the criticism some fans had over the casting of Tom Cruise in the films, revealing the changes that were made from the book for the new Amazon TV series.
The latest adaptation of Reacher features Alan Ritchson in the titular role, having previously starred in productions including Smallville, Titans and The Hunger Games.
In the original source material, the former soldier is described as measuring at 6’5”, being ‘extremely tall, extremely broad, long-armed and long-legged’, in addition to having a ‘thick’ neck and ‘hands the size of dinner plates’.
So when Mission Impossible star Cruise, who is believed to be closer to 5’7”, was cast as the character in the 2012 film and its 2016 sequel, some diehard fans of the books were not happy, a point Child opened up on during a recent conversation with Metro.co.uk.
‘There was criticism from the book fans, because they had built up a very clear image of what Reacher should look like,’ said the writer, who is an executive producer on the show.
Child explained how he found it ‘interesting’ that ‘non-book fans really liked those movies’, because ‘they were kind of convinced by Cruise in that sense’.
However, when it came to adapting his writing for a multi-episode drama, the new format ‘was a huge thing’, as the ‘actor has to carry the weight throughout eight episodes’.
‘It just became a different proposition and I guess the opportunity of thinking alright, we can get a much bigger guy so the book fans are going to be happy, but we’re also focusing on the non-book readers. What do they need? They need just great entertainment, they don’t have the reference already, and so we also had to satisfy them,’ he explained.
‘I think that the size thing is important to certain parts of the narrative. Reacher has got to scare people and you can do that so much easier with one glance of this huge animal rather than a normal-sized actor.’
While Ritchson is serving his own iteration of Reacher, there will inevitably be some who compare his performance to Cruise’s, especially considering the two films based on the character too long ago.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk and other press, Ritchson, 39, was full of praise for Cruise, 59, describing him as a ‘legend’ and saying that he ‘grew up watching and revering’ him.
‘If I was ever so lucky to get a stamp of approval from him I could die happy. I’d probably quit while I was ahead. I think one season’s enough if I heard that from him. He’s a legend, I should be so lucky,’ the actor said humbly.
‘I care deeply about what he and the rest of the people that have been a part of this for a long time think. I want to get this right.
The lead actor expressed his admiration for the ‘brilliant minds’ who have worked on Reacher and strives to make it ‘as authentic as possible’, saying that ‘everyone’s feeling good about it so far’.
‘If Mr Cruise joined in that chorus, I’d be elated,’ he added.
The eight-episode arc of Reacher meant that the creators of the show were given more time to flesh out the story, which is based on the first book Child penned about the character, Killing Floor, published in 1997.
One of the changes that was made to the series in order to adapt it authentically was to incorporate some of Child’s short stories, so that viewers are provided with more of a backstory on Reacher’s life that they might not otherwise have without the author’s writing.
While discussing the programme with Metro.co.uk and other press, he said: ‘We brought in some of the short story stuff about Reacher as a kid in order to explain his background in a way that I can explain in a book, but unless you have a voiceover situation on the screen, there’s no way of transferring that directly.’
Although the show is an extremely faithful retelling of Killing Floor, another significant change was introducing Frances Neagley, a friend of Reacher, in the first season, rather than at a later stage in keeping with the novels.
‘We brought in Neagley, who is Reacher’s old sergeant and his best friend essentially. She appears in later books. She doesn’t appear in the Killing Floor book but we brought her in to try and kind of characterise Reacher more,’ Child outlined.
The wordsmith admitted that the depiction of Roscoe Conklin in Reacher, played by Willa Fitzgerald, wasn’t how he pictured her when he was writing the story, but he believes that the actress has delivered a ‘far better’ portrayal of the character.
What’s more, he revealed that showrunner and writer Nick Santora conceived a satisfying reveal about a particular character that will be entirely new for book fans.
‘Nick Santora went deeply into the characters and one of them… there’s something revealed about one of the characters that feels absolutely true and authentic, but I never thought of it myself. I guess I laid the groundwork, and he realised what I was doing when I didn’t even realise it,’ Child said.
Consider us intrigued!
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Reacher is streaming on Amazon Prime Video from Friday February 4.
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