Alan Ritchson has revealed that Reacher came surprisingly close to adapting his favorite Lee Child novel — and his explanation for why it did not happen has created a much bigger conversation than an ordinary book-to-screen change.
Responding to a fan on Threads who wanted to see Die Trying adapted for Prime Video, Ritchson wrote: “My favorite book. Fun fact: I had it approved until someone got re-elected.”
Ritchson did not identify the person he was referring to or explain who ultimately decided against the adaptation. His comment has widely been interpreted as an allusion to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential reelection, particularly because Ritchson has publicly criticized Trump before, but that connection has not been confirmed by Amazon MGM Studios. TheWrap said Prime Video did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
That distinction matters: this was apparently a planned Reacher adaptation that Ritchson says had received approval, not a completed season that Amazon suddenly canceled after filming.
Why Die Trying would have been a very different Reacher season
Published in 1998, Die Trying is the second Jack Reacher novel and one of the earliest books in Lee Child’s series.
The story begins with Reacher being abducted alongside a woman in Chicago. Their kidnapping eventually pulls him into a confrontation with an extremist militia operating from a remote compound. Penguin Random House’s official synopsis describes Reacher and his fellow captive being taken across the country while their kidnappers demand an “impossible ransom.”
The material the fan highlighted — and Ritchson responded to — involves Reacher battling a white-supremacist militia seeking to establish a separatist state.
That subject matter would have made Die Trying noticeably more politically charged than several previous seasons, even though the novel itself was published more than 25 years ago.
What remains unknown is exactly when the adaptation was approved, which season it was intended to become, or why the plan was eventually abandoned. Ritchson’s short Threads response does not answer those questions.
Reacher simply moved on to different Lee Child books
Whatever happened behind the scenes, Reacher has continued adapting other novels rather than following the books in publication order.
Season 4, currently streaming on Prime Video, is based on Gone Tomorrow, Lee Child’s 13th Reacher novel. Amazon describes the season as beginning with a disturbing encounter on a Philadelphia subway that pulls Reacher into a larger conspiracy.
The series has already been renewed for Season 5, which will adapt Make Me, the 20th novel. That story takes Reacher to the mysterious town of Mother’s Rest, where he joins a private investigator searching for a missing person.
So Ritchson’s revelation is not evidence that Reacher itself was ever in danger of cancellation. Prime Video continues to invest heavily in the franchise: Amazon says Season 3 attracted 54.6 million viewers globally during its first 19 days, while the universe has also expanded through the Neagley spinoff.
The real unanswered question is whether Die Trying has been abandoned permanently.
Ritchson calling it his favorite book suggests he has not lost interest in adapting it. And because Reacher jumps freely around Child’s novels rather than following their original order, there is nothing structurally preventing Prime Video from returning to the story in a later season.
For now, though, all that is confirmed from Ritchson’s side is unusually tantalizing: Die Trying got far enough for him to consider it approved — and then something changed.
