Though it may not come as much of a surprise for those who have kept track of the pre-production process, Paramount has formally announced the title of Jack Reacher 2 to commemorate the Tom Cruise-fronted actions sequel slinking in front of the cameras.
As early reports had indicated, Paramount will directly source an installment in Lee Child’s long-running espionage series, now that the sequel has been rebranded as Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. There’s also word of the official cast for the follow-up, with How I Met Your Mother stalwart Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge, Danika Yorash, Austin Hebert and Patrick Heusinger all rounding out the studio’s roster. Indeed, it’s the latter actor that has boarded the project as “The Hunter,” one who we assume will be on Reacher’s case in 2016.
Ed Zwick is at the helm for Never Go Back, marking a reunion that’s been long in the making after him and Cruise collaborated for The Last Samurai in 2003. Trading war-time epics for action-packed thrillers, Jack Reacher 2 will align itself closely to Child’s novel of the same name – a creative decision that became more clear with each new member that was added to production.
For Cruise’s Reacher, the sequel will bring about a more introspective journey for the titular, hardboiled agent, returning to an old military base where he discovers an estranged child that may or may not be his daughter. The official synopsis of the book is as follows:
“In it, Reacher heads back to his old military base in Virginia to take a woman to dinner who is now the commanding officer. By the time he gets there, she has been arrested, and Reacher finds himself being charged with pummeling one guy and fathering a child with a woman.”
Production has now officially kicked off on Paramount’s action sequel, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back will slink into theaters on October 21, 2016.
