If you’re A) a fan of Lee Child’s hard-nut hero Jack Reacher and B) have a long memory for film news stories about studios picking up the rights to books, you might just remember that Paramount and Cruise/Wagner productions bought up the option to film Child’s novel One Shot back in 2005. Then, last July, it was announced that Chris McQuarrie, who has worked with Cruise before, would be re-writing the script and making an argument for him to direct the eventual film. Now we come full circle, as Cruise is in talks to snag the Reacher role.
One Shot is the ninth in the Reacher series about the gruff former military policeman turned drifter, who has a habit of dishing out brutal violence to anyone who gets in his way. In One Shot, he investigates the case of a lone sniper murdering people before he’s caught, and discovers that there’s far more to the killings than anyone suspects.
While Cruise has certainly carved out an action-packed career for himself, he’s certainly not what anyone would describe as the perfect man to play the 6’ 5” Jack Reacher. Still, Child (real name: Jim Grant) seems to think there’s a get-out clause. Asked for comment on the casting idea by Deadline, he replied: "Reacher's size in the books is a metaphor for an unstoppable force, which Cruise portrays in his own way.” We’re not sure fans are going to go for it, but then Cruise hasn’t finally locked in a deal yet anyway.
Paramount, however, which is sharing financing on the film with Skydance Productions, will be hoping that it can snag the Mission: Impossible star to put the Reacher pic in his diary for before, or, should it become necessary, after he shoots Oblivion for Joseph Kosinski.
But what do you lot think? Can Cruise play Reacher? Chime in here or on The Twitters...