Jack Reacher: With Tom Cruise out, who will play the action hero next?

Author Lee Child says Cruise lacks the appropriate 'physicality' for Reacher

Tom Cruise is out as Jack Reacher – so who will play the action hero in a forthcoming reboot?

With author Lee Child telling BBC Radio Manchester that the Mission: Impossible actor, "for all his talent", didn't have the right "physicality" to play Reacher, it appears a spot has opened for the new TV adaptation.

When Cruise was first picked to play Reacher, which he has done in two movies, some complained that the Hollywood actor wasn't the right choice.

Reacher is described in Lee's books as being a 250-pound blond man standing at 6ft 5in tall, with hands the size of dinner plates or Thanksgiving turkeys, and knuckles like walnuts.

Cruise, on the other hand, has dark hair and is 5ft 7in tall.

"The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you're all a little nervous just for that first minute... so what I've decided to do is – there won't be any more movies with Tom Cruise," Child said.

"Instead we're going to take it to Netflix or something like that. Long-form streaming television, with a completely new actor."

No replacement has been announced for Cruise yet, but fans have already started discussing possible options on online discussion boards.

Here are nine actors who could conceivably play the former US military police major on the small screen.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

The 6ft 4in, 260-pound wrestling-champion-turned-actor seems like an obvious choice whenever someone is needed to play a beefy character (the man played Hercules, the mythological poster child of burliness, in the 2014 film of the same name).

With past roles in GI Joe: Retaliation and Fast & Furious 6, the 46-year-old Johnson has the action film experience to boot, too.

John Krasinski

Kraskinski rose to fame as the personable Jim in the US version of The Office, before stunning viewers as the athletic father in his acclaimed horror film A Quiet Place.

The 6ft 3in actor further leaned into this pivot by starring as former Marine Jack Ryan in the TV adaptation based on Tom Clancy's novels.

But while the part confirms Krasinski's ability to credibly play an action hero, it could actually play against him. The part of Ryan has strong similarities with that of Reacher and Amazon has confirmed that the TV series based on Ryan's adventures would be renewed for a second season, meaning Krasinski's dance card could be full.

Dolph Lundgren

The 6ft 5in Swedish actor rose to fame in 1985 as the brawny Russian boxer Ivan drago, Rocky's antagonist in Rocky IV – a role he's reprising in Creed II, out next week in the US.

Earlier this year, Lundgren starred opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme in the action thriller Black Water.

His past credits also include the three instalments of The Expendables, the action thriller Icarus, and dozens of additional action flicks.

Lundgren had what it takes to play Reacher back in 1985, and he still does now.

Matthew McConaughey

Standing at six feet tall, McConaughey is in the ballpark of Reacher's height.

His natural frame does appear slender than that of Reacher, but McConaughey is no stranger to extreme physical transformations in the name of a part.

He was muscular in Magic Mike (though his physique was more six-pack-abs stud than strong military vet), partly bald and pudgy in Gold, and rake-thin in Dallas Buyers Club.

Surely, he could use his chameleon powers to step into Reacher's shoes.

Chris Hemsworth

The 6ft 3in actor is best known for his part as the godlike superhero Thor in the Marvel Universe.

Stan Lee, the late co-creator of Marvel who died on Monday, once described Thor as "stronger than the strongest person".

While Thor comes from the fictional realm of Asgard, there's nothing barring Hemsworth ​from taking his superhuman strength to more earthly planes.

David James Elliott

Standing at 6ft 4in tall, Elliott is certainly fit for a character of Reacher's dimensions.

He's not blond, but then again, neither was Cruise – and if authenticity must absolutely prevail, it's nothing a quick bleach job won't fix.

The Canadian actor doesn't have an extensive action resume, though, having most recently starred as John Wayne in the biographical drama Trumbo as well as the sitcom Mom.

Vin Diesel

He's six feet tall and a Fast & Furious alum who has not only acted in, but also worked as a producer for the action franchise.

Diesel is also famously muscular and frequently documents his weightlifting routine on social media.

So, why not?

Alexander Skarsgård

Tall? Check (the Swedish actor is 6ft 4in tall, almost Reacher's exact height).

Sturdy? Check. Skarsgård followed a strict diet and adhered to a rigid training routine to appear as burly as possible in David Yates's The Legend of Tarzan.

Action credits? Not really, but from his breakout role as vampire Eric Northman in True Blood to his Emmy-Award-winning as abusive husband Perry Wright in Big Little Lies, Skarsgård has shown that he certainly has range.

Chris Pratt

Similarly to Krasinski, the 6ft 2in Pratt rose to fame in a slightly cosier role than his current filmography suggests.

While he didn't seem particularly athletic as the hilarious Andy Dwyer in Parks and Recreation, Pratt packed on more muscle to appear as Peter Quill / Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy and other Marvel films.

His acting credits are currently dominated by the superhero movies and the science fiction adventure Jurassic World franchise, but Pratt could conceivably branch out as Reacher.