USA’s Shooter series has been renewed for its third season. And, further to that, fans have learned that Stephen Hunter's Black Light novel will be the focus of this new batch of episodes. Ryan Phillippe will reprise the role of Bob Lee Swagger, facing new villains as well as unraveling a conspiracy about the death of his father.

Shooter season 2 had something of a troubled production. The show’s star, Ryan Phillippe, was injured off-set in a UTV accident, which led to filming being cut short. Ultimately, only eight of the planned ten episodes were shot and screened. This meant that Shooter season 2 ended on an unintentional cliffhanger, with episode 8 acting as the season finale despite never being planned as one.

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Thankfully, Shooter will return to resolve that cliffhanger and tell some new stories about Bob Lee Swagger, the reclusive marksman at the heart of the show. Phillippe broke the news about the Shooter season 3 renewal on his personal Instagram account. He told the fans that pre-production has officially begun, and that filming will kick off in January:

TV Line soon swooped in with some extra details, confirming that Shooter season 3 will run for 13 episodes, which seems like a savvy move from the network to make up for the truncated duration of season 2. TV Line also released a short summary of the story, making it clear that the events of season 2 will wrap up and make way for an adaptation of the Black Light book:

“Bob Lee struggles to put an end to the events of Season 2. As he does so, a nemesis reveals mysterious details surrounding his father Earl’s death, leading the retired sniper towards a startling conspiracy that hits close to home.”

Moving on from the events of Hunter’s first Bob Lee Swagger novel, Point of Impact, is a big step for the Shooter TV series. This progression will mean that Shooter season 3 goes further into its protagonist's story than the 2006 Shooter movie, starring Mark Wahlberg, managed to do. There are ten books in Hunter’s series, so this show could run for a long time if The USA Network retains this level of confidence in the project.

However, the ratings of Shooter season 3 are bound to play a part in determining how many of Hunter’s novels get translated onto the small screen. Getting past Point of Impact and into Black Light is a very promising sign and a cause for celebration among Shooter’s fan base, but only time will tell what the long-term future holds for the show.

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Stay tuned to Screen Rant for all the latest Shooter news.

Source: Ryan Phillippe / TV Line