Over the course Edge of Tomorrow and Christopher McQuarrie’s recent box office hit Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Tom Cruise has been fortunate to star opposite strong female leads in Emily Blunt and Rebecca Ferguson, respectively. Now, with Cruise primed to return as the one-man reign of terror later this year, sources close to the nascent project have told The Wrap that Avengers star Cobie Smulders is in talks to co-lead Jack Reacher 2.
Should all the kinks be ironed out, the outlet reports that Smulders would be in line to play a character known as Danika – though whether this is a pseudonym of some form is up for question, considering that Danika isn’t a prominent role in Lee Child’s prestigious novel series. Nevertheless, this would mean that the actress would supplant Gone Girl‘s Rosamund Pike, who acted as the leading female of the original Jack Reacher in 2012.
Undeterred by a less-than-stellar box office return, Paramount is pushing on with Tom Cruise’s other potential tentpole franchise. With McQuarrie’s hands now tied, the action sequel is to be helmed by Ed Zwick based on a script by Richard Wenk. In the time that has lapsed since its inception, though, it’s understood Zwick will polish the screenplay alongside regular writing partner Marshall Herskovitz.
Filming is due to get underway in New Orleans later this year which means that, should Smulders be in line for Jack Reacher 2, we’ll likely hear a confirmation – or indeed denial – before long. Beyond that, there’s no word of any other cast news, nor whether the likes of David Oyelowo will return for Paramount’s sequel.
Said to be based on Child’s recent Never Go Back novel, Tom Cruise is primed to kick ass and take names once more as the titular hard man when Jack Reacher 2 arrives in 2016.