The Jack Ryan movie franchise was always a strange beast because despite being so successful, it kept hitting the reboot switch. Ryan is the creation of late author Tom Clancy, with the CIA analyst making his debut in the 1984 novel The Hunt For Red October. Ryan has come a long way in the book series since then, eventually becoming President of the United States.
Like his novel counterpart, Ryan made his first film appearance with a 1990 adaptation of The Hunt For Red October. This taut thriller was helmed by Die Hard's John McTiernan, which saw Ryan on the hunt for a high-tech Soviet submarine. Alec Baldwin played Jack Ryan in the film, though Sean Connery as the Red October's Captain was the real main character. The film received both positive notices and was a sizable box-office success, quickly leading to sequel talks.
When Patriot Games arrived in '92, Ryan underwent a major facelift. Baldwin was replaced in the lead by Harrison Ford, who was one of the biggest movie stars in the world during this era. Baldwin stated a conflict with a play as the main reason he exited Patriot Games, though later claimed he was pushed out so Ford could take the role instead. Ford is likely the actor most audiences think of as Ryan, however. The character was designed by Clancy to be more of an everyman than the likes of James Bond, though he can fight back when forced into it. Ford perfectly embodied those qualities for both Patriot Games and its 1994 follow-up Clear And Present Danger.
The Jack Ryan Movies Struggled To Find The Perfect Jack
Having two hit movies in a row appeared to confirm the Jack Ryan movies would become Ford's new franchise, and he was once set to return for an adaptation of Clancy's The Sum Of All Fears. The actor eventually dropped out after issues with the screenplay, with producers deciding to soft reboot with Ben Affleck instead. In fact, Affleck was working with Baldwin on Pearl Harbor when he was offered the gig, who advised him to take it. While The Sum Of All Fears - which co-starred Morgan Freeman as Ryan's mentor - was a comfortable success, the series soon hit more bumps in the road.
Franchise producer Mace Neufeld later blamed Affleck - who will return as Batman for Aquaman 2 - himself for the lack of a follow-up, stating the failure of the actor's "comedy" Gigli also stalled the Jack Ryan movies. The character also had something of an image problem. By his nature, Ryan is a character more comfortable behind a desk than out in the field getting his hands dirty - which isn't necessarily a good ingredient for creating a long-running action franchise. The studio wanted a more youthful Ryan to appeal to younger audiences, and after rejecting an Affleck return, the only route was to reboot yet again.
The Bourne movies - Legacy aside - had the benefit of the same leading man, and while Bond has been played by many performers, audiences have a good idea of what to expect from a 007 adventure. The same can't really be said for the Jack Ryan movies, especially since Ford was the only performer to play the part more than once. The last movie - to date - was 2014's Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which starred Chris Pine and awkwardly attempted to merge modern spy movie tropes into the saga. The film underperformed, and the character currently lives on in Amazon's Jack Ryan series starring John Krasinski.
It appears the biggest issue with the Jack Ryan movie franchise was its failure to strongly define the character for audiences. Baldwin and Ford came at the part from different angles - despite the latter's outings being direct sequels - while the youthful cockiness of Affleck's take wasn't very compelling. Ryan's everyman quality became an issue for the series, so if he comes back to the big screen someday, hopefully the film can firmly imprint who the character is.