Director Edward Zwick opens up about Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, addressing the Tom Cruise flick’s poor box office performance and reception.

SUMMARY

 Director Edward Zwick takes responsibility for the failure of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back , saying he misjudged what audiences wanted from the story and character.
 Zwick says he would return for Jack Reacher 3 if Tom Cruise was interested.
 The sequel was a critical and box office disappointment, grossing only $162.1 million worldwide and earning criticism for its by-the-numbers plot and unexciting action.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back director Edward Zwick addresses the movie’s lackluster box office performance. Based on the bestselling books by Lee Child, the first Jack Reacher movie was released in 2012, introducing Tom Cruise as the titular former Military Police Officer in an outing that earned somewhat lukewarm reviews from critics but proved to be a draw for audiences.

Zwick took over from director Christopher McQuarrie for the 2016 sequel, which follows the character as he attempts to prove the innocence of his former Army major. The film failed to perform, essentially killing the movie franchise.

In his new book, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood, Zwick opens up about the failure of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. The director takes full responsibility for the movie not working, citing a desire to put his own spin on the story that ultimately didn’t end up working for audiences. Check out an excerpt from his book (via Variety) below:

‘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.

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.

The Director Of Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher Nailed Why The Sequel Killed The $380M Franchise Early

Jack Reacher 2’s Box Office Explained

Why The Tom Cruise Sequel Wasn’t A Hit

Made on an estimated budget of $60 million, the first Jack Reacher movie ended up making $218.3 million at the box office. Although critics weren’t all on board with the film, there was clearly something to the McQuarrie and Cruise collaboration that worked for audiences.

The sequel is estimated to feature more or less the same $60 million budget, but only grossed $162.1 million worldwide. While this doesn’t make the film a financial disaster, it’s a significant step down from the first movie.

Cruise and McQuarrie have gone on to enjoy a fruitful collaboration on the Mission: Impossible franchise, with McQuarrie helming every installment since Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (in addition to doing script work on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ).

While Cruise’s charismatic performance, some slick action sequences, and McQuarrie’s assured directing elevated the first Jack Reacher above more standard action-movie fare, the sequel didn’t have the same winning combination of ingredients. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was criticized for being predictable, and the action didn’t have the same energy as the original. As seen in the chart below, the movie, at least by Rotten Tomatoes’ metrics, failed to resonate with both audiences and critics:

If the reviews had been bad but the box office strong, it’s possible that Jack Reacher 3 could have happened. Instead, Child’s source material made the jump to the small screen in the form of Prime Video’s well-reviewed Reacher series, which sees Alan Ritchson replace Cruise as the title character. Although Zwick may be open to another installment after Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, it’s not looking likely that one will ever come to fruition.

Jack Reacher 3 Will Probably Never Happen

Tom Cruise Has Moved On

In addition to the poor critical and commercial performance of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Prime Video’s Reacher series has been a big hit for the streamer.

The series debuted in 2022, and it’s generally much more faithful to Child’s source material. Ritchson has also widely been celebrated for his performance, and his physicality more closely matches the 6’5″ giant described in Child’s novels.

” Reacher has got to scare people and you can do that so much easier with one glance of this huge animal rather than a normal-sized actor.”

Child has previously spoken about the importance of Reacher’s physicality, telling Metro in 2022 that “Reacher has got to scare people and you can do that so much easier with one glance of this huge animal rather than a normal-sized actor.”

The series’ approach to the source material has been effective thus far, with season 1 holding a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, and season 2 holding a 98%. Reacher season 3 is confirmed to be on the way, and it wouldn’t really make sense to have two different takes on the same character in the culture at the same time.

Reacher season 3 is currently filming and will likely premiere on Prime Video later this year or in early 2025.

For his part, Cruise seems content to leave the role behind. Speaking about his desire to reach out to Cruise before playing the character, Ritchson revealed on The Rich Eisen Show last year that he was told the movie star “wants to just move on from this,” and that he “gave [Reacher] his blessing“.

With Mission: Impossible 8 on the way and a movie set in outer space in the works, Cruise clearly has moved on, meaning Jack Reacher: Never Go Back will almost certainly be the final time he plays the character.