Jack Reacher, the 2012 action/thriller starring Tom Cruise as its namesake, was a relatively moderate critical/commercial success when it opened in theaters; hence, at first a sequel wasn't regarded as being a sure-thing for a while there. However, one thing led to another and eventually a followup was green-lit by Paramount Pictures - one slated to reach theaters in almost exactly a year from now (at the time of writing this), in Fall 2016.

Principal photography has officially begun on the Jack Reacher sequel, and the movie is now formally titled Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. The film is based on Lee Child's book "Never Go Back" (as was previously reported) - Child's 18th installment in the Jack Reacher novel series overall - and reunites Cruise with his The Last Samurai director, Oscar-winner Edward Zwick, while his Jack Reacher director Christopher McQuarrie will serve as producer only this time around.

Cruise, who is both headlining and producing Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, was included as part of the official cast listed in the press release issued by Paramount to announce the start of filming on the Jack Reacher sequel. Here are the other cast members, along with potential details about their characters in the film:

  • Cobie Smulders (The Avengers 1 & 2, How I Met Your Mother), rumored to play an army base commander whom Reacher (a former military police officer himself) is romantically interested in... that is, before the pair get entangled in a conspiracy and have to prove their innocence.
  • Danika Yarosh (Heroes Reborn), expected to play a young woman who helps Reacher - and who may or may not be his biological daughter - as he sets out to clear his name.
  • Patrick Heusinger (Black Swan, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce), reported to be playing a hunter and a key antagonist in the movie.

Official supporting cast members for Jack Reacher: Never Go Back now include Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton), Austin Hébert (the Bonnie & Clyde 2013 mini-series), and Holt McCallany (Golden Boys, Blue Blood). However, for the time being, the names of their characters in the film are being kept under-wraps; likewise, Paramount has yet to release an official plot summary for the upcoming Never Go Back movie adaptation.

Tom Cruise holding a machine gun in Jack Reacher

Child's Never Go Back source material was adapted for the big screen by screenwriter Richard Wenk (The Equalizer), though Wenk's script draft has been revised by Zwick and his writing partner, Marshall Herskovitz (The Last Samurai, Love and Other Drugs). The original novel pairs Cruise as the lead with not just one well-developed female sidekick - something that benefitted such recent Cruise action films as Edge of Tomorrow and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - but also a younger female partner in (stopping) crime, to boot. It would appear that element will be carried over into the movie adaptation too, which is encouraging to see.

Similarly, much like Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise has benefited from bringing in a different helmsman for each installment, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is in a good position to offer a fresh spin on the eponymous character and his world - seeing as McQuarrie has a distinctly different storytelling style than Zwick. Never Go Back, in turn, may be able to provide an intriguingly different interpretation of Reacher on the big screen, while at the same time delivering a quality viewing experience that still holds up alongside McQuarrie's well-received, hard-boiled, first installment in this Tom Cruise franchise.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back opens in U.S. theaters on October 21st, 2016.

Source: Paramount Pictures