Alan Ritchson says his favourite Reacher book was approved then dropped
Alan Ritchson says his favourite Jack Reacher book will not make it to the screen.
He wrote in a Threads comment posted on Friday that he had plans to adapt Die Trying for Prime Video's Reacher. He called the novel his "favorite book", according to Variety.
His full comment on the decision was short. "I had it approved until someone got re-elected." Ritchson did not name anyone. He did not explain what changed.
He was replying to a Threads user who lamented that the next season would skip the book where Reacher kills his way through a white supremacist militia camp. That book is Die Trying. The exchange was reported by Variety.
Die Trying is the second Jack Reacher novel. It is a thriller by author Lee Child first released in 1998. A thriller here means a fast-paced crime story built around danger and escape. The plot follows Reacher and a politician's daughter after they are abducted by a radical militia to be used as leverage in political negotiations.
The television series does not adapt the books in order. Season 3 was based on Persuader, the seventh book in Child's Jack Reacher series, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. That means readers cannot guess the next season from the book numbers alone. Season 4 premiered in August on Prime Video. The show had already earned a renewal, meaning a fifth season had been ordered, before Season 4 arrived.
Approval in this context means permission to develop an idea further. It is not the same as a production order. Many approved ideas fall away before casting, sets or scripts are locked.
What makes this stand out is how direct the comment was. Ritchson linked the decision to an election without giving detail. He left the who and the why unstated.
For viewers, the result is straightforward. Die Trying is not on the list of adapted books so far. Season 5 will go ahead after its early renewal.
A change of book is also a change of jobs. A different novel needs different locations, different guest cast and different scripts. When a plan stops, that work stops with it.
