In the second episode of the second season of “Reacher,” the titular hero, once again played by Alan Ritchson, and his team of Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), David O’Donnell (Shaun Sipos) and Karla Dixon (Serinda Swan) become suspicious that it is someone who targets her former US Army unit, 110th MP Special Investigations. When asked who could hate the 110th so much that they would kill them now, a name is thrown into the room: James Barr!
This obviously rings a bell for both novel and film fans of Jack Reacher. James Barr is a major character from the novel ‘One Shot’ aka ‘Sniper’ and its film adaptation ‘Jack Reacher“ with Tom Cruise.
In the Amazon Prime Video series, Reacher immediately rules out Barr as a suspect. He got him out of trouble about a year ago and that’s why he owes him something, he explains to the surprised O’Donnell.
With this short line, the people behind the Amazon series tell us By the way, the events of the novel “One Shot” took place before the events of the second season. In “One Shot”, Reacher helps James Barr and proves his innocence when the sniper is accused of murder. During his time in the Army, the 110th convicted Barr as the murderer of several soldiers, but was unable to charge him because the Army wanted to cover up the case.
The scene isn’t just there to tell us what Reacher has been up to during his wanderings around the country in the two years that have passed since the end of the first season. It’s probably not just to show us that events in the series universe happen in the same order as in the book universe. And it’s probably not only an Easter egg for what many consider the best Reacher story, but also the most popular beyond readers thanks to the cinematic adaptation starring Tom Cruise. There’s probably an explanation behind it.
“One Shot” remake as a series – that is probably out of the question
After all, “Reacher” fans around the world are wondering which books will be adapted for future series. After all, the third season is already in the making – even though it is currently still a secret which novel is used as a basis.
And especially ‘One Shot’ aka ‘Sniper’ always comes up in discussions about which stories with Alan Ritchson you want to see or not. Because it is one of Lee Child’s best books, there is a faction that would like to see it made into a film again. But because it is one of the few books that has already been adapted, there is another faction that would rather not do it.
The people responsible for the series seem to have positioned themselves with the brief allusion to James Barr. The events have happened, they are in the past. Since it cannot be assumed that the third season or any other future season will suddenly take place between the first and the second, it is clear: “One Shot” is a thing of the past, the events happened. There will be no adjustment.
That could also be the right decision. There are already 28 (!) novels about Jack Reacher, number 29 is currently in the making. So there’s an incredible amount of material, so there’s no need to go back to a story that’s already been told.
Now, anyone looking to build their own “Reacher” adaptation chronology can always start with the first season of “Reacher,” then the movie “Jack Reacher“ and then continue with the second season “Reacher”. You just have to ignore the ‘minor’ change in the portrayal of the main character, from Alan Ritchson to Tom Cruise back to Alan Ritchson.