Alan Ritchson is gearing up to come back as Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime Video hit Reacher.
The show, which first premiered in 2022, is currently working on its fourth installment, which is expected to release in October 2025.
And though Jay Baruchel was meant to be part of the forthcoming installment, a personal matter has forced an unexpected recasting.
© Getty ImagesDeadline reported over the weekend that just a few weeks after the actor's casting for season 4 was announced, he ultimately had to depart the show to attend an undisclosed personal matter. Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette has since been announced as his replacement, to star as Jacob Merrick, a small-town policeman.
Jay's film credits include How To Train Your Dragon, This is The End, BlackBerry and Knocked Up, while Christopher is best known for starring as Chris Lucado for five episodes of Barry.
Jay, 43, has not addressed his departure, his recasting, or the personal matter. He has been married to Rebecca-Jo Dunham since 2019.
© WireImageThe fourth season of Reacher will be an adaptation of the 13th book in the global bestselling series, Gone Tomorrow, which was written by Lee Child in 2009.
Though Alan is now the titular character, the role was previously helmed by Tom Cruise for two films, the first of which premiered in 2012 and was directed by his longtime collaborator and Mission Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie.
© Getty ImagesThe film also featured Jai Courtney, who recently opened up to Forbes about missing out on the Jack role once the series was announced. "I've seen the show, and I remember when that was casting, I was like, 'Wait, I'm big enough to play Jack Reacher,' and they were like, 'No, that's too close to home,' which was a bummer at the time," he revealed, adding: "I never got to look in."
Still, he has nothing but praise for the man who did get the role, Alan, with whom he is starring in War Machine, a forthcoming science fiction action film from Netflix. "Alan's great in that, and he's great in War Machine," he said, and maintained: "I admire that dude and what he's doing."
© Getty"It's weirdly cool to see big, burly blokes getting roles because there was such a fear for a while. I know we've always had iconic action stars with certain physiques, but as someone who's not small, it's nice to see dudes in dramatic roles who aren't getting pigeonholed so much," he then noted.
"He's getting a chance to do that with a lot of the work he's setting up, so props to him," he added. "I can't wait to see how that movie does."
