Opening almost one year ago to the day, Christopher McQuarrie’s Jack Reacher was a solid blockbuster hit for Paramount, not reaching the highs of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol from the previous year, but nevertheless making the studio a tidy profit.
Before the film hit screens, there was talk of it launching a new franchise for the studio under leading man Tom Cruise’s watch, but its initial North American box office performance made that look a little less likely. But within a few weeks, its international take cleared the $200m. mark, and talk of a sequel was naturally back on the table.
Now Deadline reports that Cruise and Paramount are moving ahead with a sequel, trying to fast-track it, developing Lee Child’s most recent Jack Reacher novel, Never Go Back, published earlier this year.
Courtesy of Amazon, here’s the synopsis for the original novel.
After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination: a sturdy stone building a short bus ride from Washington D.C., the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. It was the closest thing to a home he ever had.
Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind Reacher’s old desk isn’t a woman. Why is Susan Turner not there?
What Reacher doesn’t expect is what comes next. He himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn’t expect to hear these words: ‘You’re back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.’
Will he be sorry he went back? Or – will someone else?
Cruise and Paramount are keen to have Christopher McQuarrie come back to direct, but with McQuarrie busy prepping M:I5, it looks like he won’t be able to pen the script as well, as he did with last year’s Jack Reacher. Thus the studio is now out to writers, and it will be interesting to see who they bring on board to pen the script.
There had been rumours of trying to fit Never Go Back before M:I5, but it looks like Paramount is denying that. But it’s thought that Cruise may be able to fit in one of his many other projects before shooting McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible instalment, which is due to be released on Christmas Day, 2015. If that’s the case, then there’s every chance we can expect Paramount’s Christmas slot in 2016 to be filled by (what will almost certainly be titled) Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
