Alan Ritchson has revealed that Reacher came surprisingly close to adapting one of the nastier and more politically charged books in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, but according to the actor, those plans changed after “someone got re-elected.”
The book in question is Die Trying, Lee Child’s second Jack Reacher novel and apparently Ritchson’s personal favorite. Published in 1998, the thriller throws Reacher into a kidnapping involving a politician’s daughter and a radical militia, eventually putting him up against a white supremacist group with its own political agenda.
The subject came up when a fan on Threads expressed frustration that the Prime Video series keeps passing over the novel, writing that “every year I’m sad to learn that next season won’t be the book where he kills his way through a white supremacist militia camp.”
Ritchson responded with a pretty interesting bit of information about the show’s abandoned plans: “My favorite book. Fun fact: I had it approved until someone got re-elected.”
Ritchson didn’t identify the person he was referring to or explain who made the decision to move away from the adaptation. Prime Video also hasn’t publicly confirmed the circumstances described by Ritchson.
The actor has, however, been publicly critical of President Donald Trump in the past, which has led outlets and fans to interpret the comment as a reference to Trump’s 2024 reelection.
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused With Josh Horowitz podcast, Ritchson previously discussed Trump while talking about the Epstein files and said: “That b-tch has the keys to the nuclear codes… He’s like all up into the 13-year-olds. Like dude, go to jail.”
Those comments drew a response from the White House. Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a public statement, “Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.”
As for Die Trying, it’s easy to understand why the book would make for a wild season of Reacher. The story begins with Reacher and the daughter of a politician being abducted before dropping him into a confrontation with an extremist militia. It has the kind of brutal survival action and Reacher-versus-an-entire-army stary that the fans love.
Not sure why they can’t adapt this story just because Trump is the current president. It’d make for an awesome season! For now, though, that adaptation is off the table.
Reacher Season 4 premiered on Prime Video in August and adapted Child’s Gone Tomorrow. The series remains one of Prime Video’s biggest hits.
The good news for Reacher fans is that there’s plenty more coming. Prime Video renewed the series for Season 5 before Season 4 arrived, and the next season is already in production.
Whether Die Trying eventually gets another shot remains to be seen, but Ritchson clearly still has some love for that particular Reacher adventure. Considering the book basically gives Jack Reacher an extremist militia camp to tear through, it would certainly make for one hell of a season.
