Reacher captivated audiences on Prime Video anew with the hulk of a protagonist played by Alan Ritchson. The Jack Reacher movie director Edward Zwick opens up about why he thinks his attempt at the story flopped at the box office.

Reacher vs reacherWho was the better Reacher? Just kidding, we all know who. | © Prime Video/Paramount Pictures
Before Reacher took Prime Video by storm (who else can’t wait for season 3?), there was a rather unpleasant chapter in the franchise’s history: the movies with Tom Cruise. Not that the movies were that bad, they just didn’t quite manage to capture the Reacher vibe that Amazon clearly does.

Edward Zwick directed the second Reacher movie back in 2016 and, let’s be honest, that didn’t really end all that well: what should’ve been an action-packed movie kind of fell flat. In his freshly released memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood , he talks business.

“I Blame Myself” – Is This Why The Second Reacher Movie Flopped?

In his memoir, he reflects on why Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (based on this book right here ) was such a flop at the box office.

‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,’ which Tom Cruise and I made in 2016, fizzled at the box office. I blame myself (and my willing accomplice, Don Granger) for thinking the audience might enjoy a mash-up of ‘Jack Reacher’ and ‘Paper Moon,’ when in fact they just wanted more red meat.

And that’s exactly it, isn’t it? Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher packs quite the punch – literally. His physique alone is way closer to the source material by Lee Child, so it’s no wonder the Prime version speaks more to the old fans. And new fans too, because Ritchson is just easy on the eyes.

I had a wonderful time working with Cobie Smulders, and I certainly don’t blame Tom for not being six two — as the novelist Lee Child described his protagonist — and should Tom happen to call about making a third movie together, I’ll definitely pick up.

And, again: the movie and Zwick’s work weren’t a total catastrophe, contrary to how Zwick himself kinda portrays it. Don’t be so hard on yourself! But also, please let Ritchson continue as the one and only Reacher. No offense, Mr. Cruise.