MOVIE NEWS – It’s nice when a popular author defends his readers, because they make a living from them, but to do so at the expense of Tom Cruise is inelegant. Author Lee Child, author of the million-selling Jack Reacher series, told the Independent that readers were right when they weren’t happy about Cruise playing the fearless hero in the film versions of each volume.

The Reacher he dreamed up is huge and menacing, but the star is neither. According to Child, that’s why Alan Ritchson, who plays Reacher in the current TV series, was a much better choice, because he really is the kind of guy you’d be scared of in a dark alley.

It’s an old story that Cruise isn’t one of the biggest stars, but that’s just a small footnote in his portfolio. His fortune is estimated at $600 million, so it cannot be said that the interest of movie lovers in him is decreasing for any reason. That is why there is such great anticipation ahead of Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning, which seems to be the last installment of the series – but it may not be. Neither Cruise nor director Christopher McQuarrie were willing to give any certainty about this. When Empire magazine last asked whether the series would end with this installment, the star simply replied: “Go see the movie.”

(Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – domestic premiere: May 22, 2025)