Jack Reacher is a loner. A wanderer. But with each new mission, in each strange location, Reacher picks up acquaintances who help him along his way, and it’s sounding like Tom Cruise is narrowing down the search for a current co-star in the next Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel Never Go Back.
Sources are telling Variety that Heroes Reborn star Danika Yarosh is closing in on a deal to play a significant female role in Jack Reacher 2, which will star Tom Cruise and be directed by Ed Zwick (The Last Samurai). The 16-year-old actress reportedly has been screen-testing with Cruise during pre-production, with sources saying she had the best chemistry with the Mission: Impossible superstar. The sequel is expected to begin shooting next month, and will next set out to cast the movie’s main villain.
Jack Reacher, released in 2012, adapted the Lee Child novel One Shot, which is only one in a long series of books based on the adventures of the wandering anti-hero, played on screen by Cruise. Jack Reacher 2 will work from a story that finds Reacher heading back to Northern Virginia, and the site of his former military base. Over the course of several stories leading up to Never Go Back, Reacher had been communicating on the phone with Susan Turner – a character with whom he’d started a bit of a romantic relationship. That role is believed to go to Cobie Smulders (which Variety confirms). So who would Danika Yarosh play?
Tom Cruise has made fantastic selections lately when lining up his female co-stars. Earlier this summer, he helped make Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation co-star Rebecca Ferguson a household name. He has been lucky enough to share scenes with Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), Julianne Hough (Rock of Ages), Paula Patton (Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and Cameron Diaz (the underrated Knight and Day). Seeing as how the age of Danika Yarosh suggests the type of role she might play, we have guesses, but they would be spoilers.
The actress’s commitment to the NBC series Heroes Reborn could present a scheduling conflict, but Variety says that Paramount and Cruise are high on her for the production. Jack Reacher 2 is hoping to film for the latter half of this year, and will aim for an October 21, 2016 release date. As more cast members are added, we will keep you up to date.
