We don’t know who the next James Bond will be, but in the meantime, the appetite for spies, espionage, intelligence, and related topics are being satisfied on TV. Those more current streaming series and their stars include The Agency (Michael Fassbender), Black Doves (Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw), The Day Of The Jackal (Eddie Redmayne), and Reacher (Alan Ritchson), but there’s always room for more espionage.
Amazon MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Skydance have acknowledged this unyielding interest by resurrecting the Jack Ryan franchise, most recently brought to screen in four Prime Video/Amazon seasons of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan starring John Krasinski, who didn’t give any indication of returning to the leading role when the show ended last summer. Yet he is picking up his CIA analyst and ex-U.S. Marine persona once more, so let’s talk about what we can expect from more of Tom Clancy spy-thriller novels coming to life.
Plot
In retrospect, a movie makes perfect sense because the TV show was so popular with Dads that the third season toppled Netflix’s Wednesday out of the top spot. And as Variety reports, this movie is intended “as the next stage in the evolution of the Tom Clancy franchise starring John Krasinski.” A script already exists from Aaron Rabin, one of the fourth-season writers, and the director’s seat will be occupied by Andrew Bernstein, who both directed and executive produced during the second season.
These filmmakers are being fairly secretive, but the word “evolution” feels important because at least two TV series cast members, Wendell Pierce and Michael Kelly, are reprising their roles of James Greer and Mike November, respectively. The big question mark, however, is who is notably not being mentioned from the fourth season and whether that omission is intended to mask future franchise plans until Amazon wants to let that cat out of the bag.
Who could that possibly be? Michael Peña, who is currently one of the most underrated ingredients in in Taylor Sheridan’s Landman on Paramount+. Jack Ryan aficionados will recall Peña as undercover CIA operative Domingo “Ding” Chavez, who debuted in the TV series’ fourth season amid a Deadline report that Ding would lead a Rainbow Six spin off series. Watch him cook.
That report popped up in 2022 and saw a wrinkle with a 2023 report that Michael B. Jordan would reprise his John Clark character from Without Remorse in a Rainbow Six movie. However, that movie’s reported director, Chad Stahelski, has too many other projects (Henry Cavill in a Highlander reboot, for example) in his immediate future, and the John Krasinski side of the Jack Ryan franchise is now taking the reins for expansion.
And why bother teasing an expansion if Amazon doesn’t plan on putting the Ding Chavez chess piece back into motion?
Nothing about Ding has been mentioned by recent press releases, but it only seems natural that an evolution points toward a baton passing for some sort. Amazon has, after all, been rapidly moving on spin offs of Citadel and Reacher lately, so do not count out Ding Chavez, especially since he was such a pivotal part of the TV show’s final season, and Peña himself sounded game for keeping the role alive during a press tour. There’s certainly enough Clancy material to keep him going, too, since Ding appeared in over 20 Jack Ryan Universe novels including seven core Jack Ryan books.
Cast
Currently, the confirmed participants include not only Krasinski but also Wendall Pierce and Michael Kelly. As mentioned above, Michael Peña’s potential appearance as Ding Chavez remains a wild card, and no mention has been made of (and this would be a long shot) Naomi Rapace on board Harriet “Harry” Baumann.
A new member to this franchise will be Sienna Miller, who has climbed onboard in a mystery role.
Release Date
Amazon MGM hasn’t pinpointed a release date yet or clarified whether this movie is bound for theaters or streaming.
Trailer
Since filming hasn’t begun yet, no trailer for the film exists, but try to watch this clip and not imagine that the future of the franchise is Ding Chavez.
