Reacher has been an enormous success for Amazon, bringing the world of Lee Child’s popular novels to the screen in constantly fresh and interesting ways, but it’s not the first time this adaptation has been attempted. The books were first turned into movies starring Tom Cruise in the titular role, despite lots of backlash surrounding the Hollywood actor’s unconventional casting. Thankfully, the television version has been much more widely accepted as the better adaptation; there are many shows like Reacher, but few that quite capture the same intensity.

Despite the mixed reception of Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies, there’s still a lot of fondness for the actor within the fandom. He was easily the best part of those movies, and his take on the character was intentionally different from Child’s vision in order to give the franchise a new dimension. Unfortunately, this didn’t quite land with audiences – but the movies still got a lot right about Cruise’s Jack Reacher. For this reason, many have questioned whether Cruise had any input on the Amazon series, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Alan Ritchson Was Told That Tom Cruise Had “Moved On” Already From Reacher

Reacher’s Producers Advised Not To Bother The Actor

As a sign of respect towards Cruise for his work on the movies, lead actor Alan Ritchson decided to write him a letter thanking him for what he did “for the brand” of Reacher. Speaking with Slash Film, Ritchson admitted: “I just felt it was the respectful thing to do.” The actor wanted to give Cruise the credit that he was never really given for his on-screen work as Jack Reacher before taking over the role. “Say what you want about whether he was right for Reacher or not,” Ritchson argued, “most people know about Reacher because of Mr. Cruise.”

However, Ritchson was informed by producer Don Granger that Cruise wanted to move on from the project, and he’d already “given his blessing” to the new show. This definitely makes sense given the negative reaction that he faced after his own Jack Reacher movies: it’s likely that the star wanted to put some space between himself and the new adaptation. In some ways, Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies didn’t work, and he clearly wanted to move on to something else.

Alan Ritchson Eventually “Delivered” His Reacher Letter To Tom Cruise

The Actor Gave Tom Cruise His Flowers On Late-Night Television

Ultimately, Ritchson ended up telling Cruise everything he wanted to share with him anyway, using Jimmy Kimmel Live as the conduit for his letter. Although he was advised not to bother Cruise with his self-described “heartfelt” note, the actor still expressed his admiration for Cruise during his late-night interview. “We would not have the series that we have without [Tom Cruise],” Ritchson said. “I’m super grateful for [him] passing the baton to me on Reacher and helping it become what it’s become with the eyes that [he] brought to the show.”

Tom Cruise has always championed projects like Reacher to do well regardless of his own experience adapting the books, so it’s no surprise that Ritchson felt so bound to thank him for his service.

Joking about the nature of his letter, Ritchson also admitted that there were “a few ‘I love you’s” in the letter that he wouldn’t include in his late-night address, which proves just how much admiration and goodwill there is between the two actors. Tom Cruise has always championed projects like Reacher to do well regardless of his own experience adapting the books, so it’s no surprise that Ritchson felt so bound to thank him for his service. And it’s true: without those movies, Reacher probably would not be such an enormous success.

How Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher Show Is Different From Tom Cruise’s Movies

There Are Few Similarities Between The Two Projects

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Although they’re both adapted from the same works, there are several key differences between the Jack Reacher movies and the show. For starters, the movies were much more sensationalized than Lee Child’s novels ever were – the stakes were much higher and Cruise’s performance made everything feel much more dramatic, whereas Reacher is more gritty and grounded in reality. This was a key criticism of the movies as it caused them to drift far away from the spirit of the books, but that’s something that Reacher has swiftly rectified.

Another major difference between the Jack Reacher movies and show is the portrayals of the lead character: both Cruise and Ritchson bring their own style to the figure, and while neither can objectively be called “better”, Ritchson’s performance in Reacher is definitely truer to the spirit of the books. He’s tougher and more ruthless, whereas Cruise’s version was more stereotypically cool and clever.