“Far better as Reacher than Cruise”: Tom Cruise is No Longer the Fan Favorite in Jack Reacher Franchise After Alan Ritchson’s New Season

Since the Reacher season 2 has been out, fans couldn’t stop themselves from obsessing over the flawless performance by Alan Ritchson who plays the titular role in the Amazon Prime video series.

However, after witnessing the stunning physical appearance and the portrayal of Jack Reacher by Alan Ritchson, many netizens questioned Tom Cruise’s casting in the original films. They believed Cruise didn’t fit the role and could have been given to Ritchson from the beginning.

Fans Believe Tom Cruise Was a Wrong Choice For Jack Reacher

Despite being one of the world’s most celebrated and incredible stars, fans have compared A-lister Tom Cruise with another rising star Alan Ritchson. This debate emerged after the film adaptation of Lee Child’s novel, and Cruise plays the lead role in both movies, followed by the TV series adaptation on Prime Video, in which Alan Ritchson plays the role.

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Netizens on social media have shared their opinions that the Top Gun star never matched the physique of Jack Reacher. According to Child’s novels. In the novel Killing Floor, the former U.S. Army military policeman is depicted as 6’5″ and weighs 250 pounds. However, Cruise is  5’7″ and Ritchson is 6’2″, which is pretty close to the character made by Lee Child.

It’s hard to believe that anyone could be a better fit for any role than Tom Cruise, but in this case Alan Ritchinson is far better as #Reacher than Cruise.

— Ari Fantis (@rprez2012) December 20, 2023

Really enjoying Season 2 of #Reacher as much as Season 1, intelligent and cleverly written. Alan Ritchson is a physical force of nature, much more suited for the role of Jack than Tom Cruise ever was. pic.twitter.com/kxCzdefCr8

— Barbatos (@TriviaOfRivia) December 22, 2023

It’s fantastic and entertaining and far closer to the books characters than the Tom Cruise movies ever were. Let’s keep the #Reacher train rolling.

— Brent Concialdi (@bconcial) December 21, 2023

#AlanRitchson is 6 ft 3.5 inches and gained 30 lbs of muscle to play #Reacher, for Season 2 he added 5 lbs for a total of 240 lbs, very close to the books where he is described as being 6 ft 5 inches & 250 pounds. Much better than 5 ft 7 inch Tom Cruise. https://t.co/ohMUn5SOxG

— Robert Korczynski (@bobkorczynski) December 23, 2023

According to fans, Ritchson’s acting, notably the fighting scenes, looked more realistic than that of Cruise, and as the Reacher star has a better stone face, it makes his portrayal even more realistic.

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Child Lee Validated Alan Ritchson’s Portrayal of Jac Reacher

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As the holidays arrived, military police investigator Jack Reacher also made his way back through the Prime Video series. The creator of the marvelous novel Lee Child in an interview approved of Alan Ritchson’s portrayal of Reacher, as he crafted a hulking muscle man who could beat up anyone with little problems. According to Screen Rant, the author said:

“I think that the size thing is important to certain parts of the narrative. 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.”

However, Child admitted that, while the book fans rebelled against Tom Cruise’s role, his fans were quite impressed by the actor’s take on the character.

Reacher Season 2 is streaming on Prime Video.