First we’ll begin with the news Tom Cruise is in negotiations to star in One Shot where he’d play Jack Reacher, the lead character in Lee Child’s thriller series. Christopher McQuarrie (Valkyrie) penned the adaptation and is expected to direct from his own script. The series follows Reacher, a former military policeman turned drifter. In “One Shot,” Reacher investigates a case where a sniper is accused of murdering five people before being captured.
“One Shot” is just one of 15 novels featuring the Reacher character and Deadline, who reported the news, describes him as “6’5,” about 250 pounds, and when you are on the business end of his clenched fists, you are most likely going to be spitting out teeth and getting fitted for a cast or two.”
Of course, at 5′ 7″, Cruise is hardly a physical match for Reacher, but let’s be honest, has that ever mattered in the movies. I just wonder, are there a lot of Lee Child fanboys out there outraged at this news? I’d never heard of the character before, but it sounds like it could be quite good.
Next comes some minor The Dark Knight Rises casting as director Christopher Nolan has cast Josh Stewart (“No Ordinary Family,” The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) in an unspecified role. Filming is already underway on the project and if you missed my latest piece on the film click here.
And our final end-of-the-day casting nugget comes from Variety reporting “Chicago Code” actor Jason Clarke has joined Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby as George B. Wilson, a mechanic and owner of an auto-repair shop that plays a major role in the adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story.
Clarke joins Leonard DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton and Elizabeth Debicki in the film which is set to get underway at the end of July in Australia.
