Tom Cruise Is Too Short To Play Jack Reacher, Author Agrees

Tom Cruise will no longer play the big-screen version of Jack Reacher, as the character is moving to a streaming series with a new actor in the lead. This comes as author Lee Child admits that the fans were correct to criticize Cruise's stature not matching the character.

In the books, Reacher is described as a mountain of a man who makes others feel uncomfortable by his mere presence. He's also over six feet tall, while Tom Cruise is a slighter 5'7". Fans of the books criticized the casting choice, and it appears Child has come around to their point.

"I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He's a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun," Child told the BBC. "But ultimately the readers are right. The size of Reacher is really, really important and it's a big component of who he is. The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you're all a little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all his talent, didn't have that physicality."

Instead, he said they're going to develop a long-form streaming show with a new actor. The platform hasn't been decided, but Child said he was thinking along the lines of "Netflix or something like that." He also mentioned that he wants the readers who were dissatisfied with Cruise to give suggestions on an actor who would fit the part.

The two films, the first called Jack Reacher and the second titled Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, both received middling reviews, though the consensus was more positive for the first movie than for its sequel.