Tom Cruise Returning for 'Jack Reacher' Sequel Based New Novel

Tom Cruise may have kicked a lot of ass in Jack Reacher, but it got whupped pretty decently at the box office, hitting only $80M domestically. Normally that wouldn't be enough to have Paramount thinking franchise, and for awhile it looked like those plans were off. However, the film was a hit overseas with an additional $140M, and that was enough to get Paramount to change their minds.

Deadline reports Cruise is returning for a sequel to Jack Reacher, which was based on the popular series of novels by author Lee Child. The film will be based on Child's 18th, and most recent book, Never Go Back, which was released in September. Christopher McQuarrie wrote and directed Jack Reacher and is working with Cruise on Mission: Impossible 5. New writers are being sought now and there's still a small glimmer of hope McQuarrie will return but it's looking unlikely.

As for the story, it has Reacher delving into his past and revisiting the Virginia headquarters of his old military unit, only to be charged with a crime he may have committed years ago.

Cruise has the sci-fi flick Edge of Tomorrow coming out next, and it's unlikely he'll get the Jack Reacher sequel done before MI:5. In other words, it could be awhile before this ever gets moving. 

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Tom Cruise kicks butt in the first 'Jack Reacher' clip

For many folks, whether Jack Reacher is enjoyable or not will depend on if Tom Cruise can make for a believably imposing bad ass. It's a silly idea to think that he can't, considering we've seen him do it multiple times throughout his career. The problem is that Cruise doesn't fit the character's profile from Lee Child's novels, by nearly a foot and about 80lbs. But if you can get beyond that, then there's no reason to think Jack Reacher can't be an effective thriller.

A new clip from the film has been released, and it's a clear effort to show Cruise can be intimidating when necessary. It shows him putting a beat down on five dudes who simply picked on the wrong guy. Christopher McQuarrie wrote the script and directs, with Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall, Richard Jenkins, Jai Courtney, and Werner Herzog co-starring. Jack Reacher opens on December 21st. Check out the clip followed by the plot....


PLOT: When a gunman takes five lives with six shots, all evidence points to the suspect in custody. On interrogation, the suspect offers up a single note: “Get Jack Reacher!” So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

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Sure Shots: Tom Cruise; Sam Rockwell; Rush

 
* Tom Cruise is re-teaming with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie(Valkyrie) on One Shot, a thriller based on one of the many Jack Reacher novels written by Jim Grant(pseudonym Lee Child). Reacher is an ex-military police officer, who wanders the country in an attempt to know it better. In One Shot, a sniper guns down five people with six shots. Quickly captured by the police, the case should be solved, until he asks to speak to one man: Jack Reacher. Having never read any of the Reacher novels, I can't say whether this is a good thing casting Cruise or not. But considering Reacher is described as being 6 foot 5, with a 50 inch barrel chest, something tells me this is a bad call, Ripley. Shooting begins later this year. [Deadline]

* The last two years have seen Sam Rockwell being unfairly snubbed by awards voters for his performances in Moon and Conviction. To me, studios should be beating down his door to front their pics. Well he's got another shot to show what he's made of, as ThePlaylist confirms he's now in talks to star in the indie feature, Better Living Through Chemistry. Jeremy Renner had been attached to the role for awhile, but due to his disgustingly busy schedule, had drop out. As he and Rockwell are close buds, it appears he was a factor in getting this deal started. Rockwell would play a small town pharmacist in a loveless marriage who gets mixed up in an affair that eventually turns deadly. Judi Dench, Michelle Monaghan, and Jennifer Garner are set to star as well in the film from debut writers/directors Geoff Moore and David Posamentier.

* Daniel Bruhl, who is most familiar as Nazi sniper hero Frederick Zoller in Inglourious Basterds, is in talks to join Ron Howard's Formula One film, Rush. He'd play Niki Lauda, the Austrian F-1 World Champion in a deep rivalry with fellow racer, James Hunt(Chris Hemsworth). While in a tight race for the championship in 1976, Lauda would suffer a terrible crash that left him in a coma for a short time. Peter Morgan(The Queen) wrote the script, and shooting may begin near the end of the year. Is it me, or is Rush starting to sound like a better film than The Dark Tower? Howard may just drop out of that one altogether.

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