Following the end of Reacher Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video, the first story details for Season 3 were revealed to the public.
After enduring a major delay to Season 2's release, Reacher's latest eight-episode arc arrived to rave reviews as Alan Ritchson's hero reunited with his close allies from the 110th Special Investigators Unit of the military police.
Bringing an extensive cast of new characters into the fray, Season 2 brought the story from Lee Child's 11th Jack Reacher book (Bad Luck and Trouble) to life, with many wondering where the adventure will go from here.
Reacher Fans Get Details on Season 3 Story
Deadline shared a confirmation on the specific Jack Reacher book that will be used as inspiration for Reacher Season 3 on Amazon Prime Video.
This new season will be based on Lee Child's seventh book in the series, which is entitled Persuader, and the official longline for the new set of episodes reads as follows:
"Reacher must go undercover to rescue an informant held by a haunting foe from his past."
The report also confirmed that Maria Sten will be back for Season 3 as Neagley, making her the only actor other than Alan Ritchson to appear in all three seasons of Reacher to this point. The new episodes are also currently filming in Toronto, Canada.
Ritchson also shared the first new details about the story for Season 3, which came before the announcement of the book that would be used for the story.
Speaking during Season 2's press junket, Ritchson teased that Season 3 would be "an independent adventure for Reacher" and that it would adapt one of "the top five greatest Reacher books" before the book was confirmed:
"There’s a lot to look forward to after Season 2. And I know that because I’m in the middle of shooting Season 3. Although I’ve been barred from telling you the title, I will say that it is an independent adventure for Reacher that is one of the favorites for all book readers. There have been over 200 million books read, and this is in the top five greatest 'Reacher' books, and it’s coming out really well, and that’s all I’m allowed to say, and I hope people look forward to that much information."
Jack Reacher author Lee Child discussed the new season as well, telling The Messenger about the process behind finding a book for Season 3 that would be more of a solo story for Reacher.
This included finding a story that "would have a great opening scene" to start the new season, which he believes the team found:
"We felt we needed a book that was more Reacher alone for the third season. And so it was a question of which story would work best for that, and which one would have a great opening scene and all of that, and we found one that we loved."
In an interview with Variety published the day the Season 2 finale aired, Ritchson hinted that the members of the 110th unit may come back, teasing the team will have "the same problems all over again for Season 3:"
"By the time people get to the end [of the season], they’re going to be saying, 'Seasons 1 and 2 are so good, but where can he go from here?' I want to see more of the 110th. How are we gonna get them in? We’ll have all the same problems all over again for Season 3, I’m sure."
Showrunner Nick Santora also teased new Season 3 information with The Hollywood Reporter in late January, noting that Reacher would "kick the crap out of people" and that he will "be incredibly smart and deductive" in his work:
"I can tell you Reacher is going to kick the crap out of people; he’s going to be incredibly smart and deductive in figuring things out; he’s going to be a hero and he is going to help save the day! He’s going to be Jack Reacher."
He also reiterated the idea of Reacher being "a loner and a drifting hobo" in this new season, making it clear that the show looks to stay true to the idea of him "[moving] about on his own" and teaming up with others when needed:
"What I can say is the spirit of Reacher is that he is a loner and a drifting hobo, to use Reacher’s terminology. So, Reacher is never going to have a band of merry folks that travel along with him and help him solve crimes, and have adventures. The DNA of Reacher is that he moves about on his own and teams up with good people when there’s bad lurking about, and then he says goodbye to those people and goes on his way. And that’s what we’re always trying to stay true to."
What Will Happen in Reacher Season 3?
After Reacher Season 2's adaptation of Bad Luck and Trouble and Season 1's take on Killing Floor (one of Child's other highly-regarded Reacher books), Season 3's use of Persuader will put Reacher back into somewhat familiar territory.
This book sees Reacher unofficially working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to bring down somebody suspected of smuggling drugs through rug trading while saving another undercover DEA agent.
The agency uses Reacher to stage a kidnapping and rescuing of the drug smuggler's son, using the boy as an inside man to find out more about the drug operation before learning it is actually centered around guns and weapons.
Reacher's core reason for getting involved centers on him getting revenge on somebody who murdered one of his old colleagues a decade prior, with the murderer now in charge of this gun-running scheme.
With Ritchson having teased "an independent adventure for Reacher" in the above quotes, this story will see him working on his own much more than he did in Season 2, even with Maria Sten's Neagley still by his side.
But with filming still a few months from finishing, other details will remain under wraps until Reacher's cast and crew have the chance to tease more of what's coming for viewers.
The first two seasons of Reacher are streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and Season 3 is currently filming.
