Reacher producer says approved Die Trying adaptation has been shelved
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Actor and producer Alan Ritchson has confirmed that an approved television adaptation of Lee Child's novel "Die Trying" for Prime Video's Reacher series has been shelved. Responding to fan disappointment on the social media platform Threads, Ritchson revealed his favourite book "had it approved until someone got re-elected," implying a connection to Donald Trump's re-election without naming him directly. The shelved adaptation represents a reversal of a greenlit project and highlights potential political considerations affecting production decisions.
"Die Trying," the second novel in Child's Jack Reacher series, centres on Jack Reacher and a politician's daughter who are abducted by a radical militia seeking to establish a separatist white-only state in the mountains. Season five of the Reacher series, which has already been renewed, will instead adapt Child's 12th novel, "Make Me." Ritchson, known for his public criticism of Trump, has previously condemned the former president over the release of the Epstein files. Prime Video has not publicly commented on the matter.
- Approved "Die Trying" adaptation shelved following Trump's re-election
- Project attributed to political sensitivities by Ritchson
- Season five will adapt "Make Me" instead
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Reacher is a Prime Video drama based on Lee Child’s novels about Jack Reacher, a former military investigator who travels the United States and becomes involved in dangerous crimes. Alan Ritchson plays Reacher and also helps produce the series, while Child’s books provide the storylines.
Die Trying is the second novel in the series and follows Reacher after he is kidnapped alongside an FBI agent, drawing him into a plot involving a militia and white supremacist ideology. The proposed adaptation has attracted attention because Ritchson linked its shelving to Donald Trump’s re-election, while Prime Video has not publicly explained the decision, raising questions about how political subjects are handled in popular television.
Full account
Alan Ritchson has said that an approved plan to adapt Lee Child’s novel Die Trying for Prime Video’s Reacher has been shelved. The actor, who also produces the series, made the disclosure in a reply to a fan on Threads. He described the 1998 book as his favourite in the Jack Reacher series and attributed the decision to an unnamed person being re-elected, without identifying them or explaining the production decision in detail.
Die Trying is the second Reacher novel. Its story follows Reacher and the daughter of a politician after they are abducted by an armed extremist group seeking to use her as leverage in a bid to establish a separate white-only territory. The book’s depiction of a militia and its political demands gives the proposed adaptation a more explicitly political premise than some of the series’ other storylines.
Neither report says which season Ritchson had secured approval to make, or whether the project was formally cancelled by Prime Video. The reports connect his remark to his previously expressed criticism of Donald Trump, although Ritchson did not name Trump in the Threads exchange. They also recall his recent comments about the Jeffrey Epstein files, which prompted a response from a White House spokeswoman.
The reports place the development against the show’s continuing success. Prime Video renewed Reacher for a fifth season before the fourth season’s premiere; that forthcoming season is expected to draw on Child’s twelfth novel, Make Me, rather than Die Trying. One report concentrates on the adaptation’s shelving and Ritchson’s political history, while the other adds more detail about the Epstein-file controversy, the novel’s plot and the absence of comment from Prime Video.
Where outlets differ
The reports give broadly the same account but differ in emphasis. The first stresses Ritchson’s earlier criticism of Trump and includes a response from a White House spokeswoman, while the second focuses more on the Epstein-file context, the reported contents of the released documents and the fact that The Hollywood Reporter sought comment from Prime Video. Their descriptions of the novel also vary slightly in detail, particularly over the militia’s political objective.
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