“Die Trying,” the second Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, follows the hero dismantling a militia wishing to secede from the U.S.
Alan Ritchson, the star and co-executive producer of Prime Video’s Reacher, has revealed that the series once had plans to adapt Lee Child’s novel Die Trying, but the project was ultimately shelved after “someone got re-elected.”
Ritchson shared the revelation while responding to a fan on Threads who expressed disappointment that the show had not adapted the second novel in the Jack Reacher book series. The actor described Die Trying as his favorite book and said the adaptation had been approved before the plans changed.
A fan recently posted about wanting to see Reacher battle a white supremacist militia in an adaptation of Die Trying, the 1998 novel by Lee Child.
Responding to the comment, Ritchson wrote:
“My favorite book. Fun fact: I had it approved until someone got re-elected.”
The actor did not directly identify the person he was referring to or explain precisely how the election affected the project. However, reports interpreted his comment as an apparent reference to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential re-election. Entertainment Weekly reported that representatives for Ritchson, Amazon, and the White House had been contacted for comment.
Ritchson’s statement establishes that the adaptation had previously received approval, but it does not independently confirm the specific internal reason the project was abandoned.
Published in 1998, Die Trying is the second novel in Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. The story follows Reacher after he and a politician’s daughter are kidnapped by a radical militia.
The group operates from Montana and seeks to separate from the United States in order to establish a white ethno-nationalist state. Reacher becomes caught in the militia’s plans and must work to protect the kidnapped woman while confronting the organization from within.
The novel contains a storyline involving an armed white supremacist organization, which is the central reason fans have been interested in seeing it adapted for television. Ritchson’s comments suggest that the story was once under consideration for the series, although the production’s exact plans and timeline have not been fully disclosed.
Ritchson’s reference to someone being re-elected has prompted speculation about whether political considerations influenced the decision to abandon the adaptation.
The actor did not provide additional details about the decision, and there has been no publicly confirmed statement from Amazon explaining why the proposed season was shelved. As a result, the connection between the election and the adaptation’s cancellation remains based on Ritchson’s comment and subsequent interpretation by media reports.
The timing has also attracted attention because the storyline involves a white supremacist militia and would have placed Reacher directly against an extremist movement. However, the available reporting does not establish the complete internal decision-making process behind the change.
Although Die Trying was reportedly considered, the television series went in a different direction for its third season.
Season 3 adapted ** Persuader **, Lee Child’s 2003 novel. In that storyline, Reacher goes undercover within a criminal organization in Maine while investigating a missing informant and an arms-trafficking operation. The season also explores Reacher’s connection to a figure from his military past.
The adaptation of Persuader retained the series’ focus on infiltration, criminal networks, and high-stakes action, but it did not feature the white supremacist militia storyline from Die Trying.
The Reacher television series is continuing on Prime Video, with Season 5 confirmed and in production. The upcoming season is based on Lee Child’s novel Make Me, which is the 20th book in the series, rather than Die Trying.
Ritchson has reportedly been filming the fifth season in Canada. The decision to adapt Make Me means that fans will not see Die Trying as the basis for the next announced season, although Ritchson’s comments have renewed interest in whether the story could be revisited in the future.
No official announcement has confirmed that Die Trying will be adapted in a later season.
Ritchson’s comments generated discussion among fans, particularly those who had hoped to see Reacher confront the militia in Die Trying. Some responses focused on the political implications of the actor’s statement, while others questioned why a storyline about fighting white supremacists would be considered difficult to adapt.
The reaction reflects the broader interest in how the Reacher series selects material from Lee Child’s extensive book catalog. While the show has adapted several novels, the television version has also changed the order of stories and introduced its own continuity.
Alan Ritchson’s revelation has renewed attention around Die Trying, one of Lee Child’s earliest Reacher novels and a story featuring the protagonist’s confrontation with a white supremacist militia.
Ritchson said the adaptation had been approved before “someone got re-elected,” an apparent reference to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, but he has not publicly explained the full circumstances behind the project’s shelving. Meanwhile, Reacher is moving forward with a fifth season based on Make Me.
For now, fans will have to wait for any official update from Ritchson, Amazon, or the show’s production team regarding whether Die Trying could eventually make its way to the screen.
