Alan Ritchson and Netflix's New Sci-Fi Thriller Is Perfect for 'Reacher' Fans Like Me

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Published May 15, 2026, 8:31 PM EDT

Charlie Ridgely is a writer from Maryland, currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee. He may be new to Collider, but he's been writing, editing, conducting interviews, and podcasting around the industry for 10 years. From 2016 to the start of 2026, Charlie was a full time writer and critic at ComicBook.com. A lifelong movie fan, avid reader, and renowned (fictional) dungeon explorer/dragonslayer, Charlie is a jack-of-all-trades throughout the fandom multiverse and has covered everything under the sun.

Who would've thought that Thad Castle would one day become the best action star in Hollywood? Alan Ritchson has gone from the star of late-night comedy Blue Mountain State to bonafide action badass over the last 15 years, thanks in large part to his leading role in Prime Video's acclaimed Reacher series. The towering Ritchson has honed his hand-to-hand skills on the hard-hitting series, and has since started translating those skills to feature films, like Motor City and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Now the action star has a new movie on Netflix, and it is cranking the Reacher star's action up to 11. From The Hitman's Bodyguard director Patrick Hughes, War Machine sees Ritchson star as a trainee in a grueling military boot camp who stumbles into a deadly threat from another world.

What If Reacher Fought a Killer Robot From Space?

Not every action movie starring Alan Ritchson should automatically get compared to Reacher. That wouldn't be fair to the star or his impeccable performance as Lee Child's iconic hero. However, it won't take fans of the series long to notice similarities between the main character of the Prime Video hit and 81 (the name of Ritchson's character in War Machine). They both are keen observers and the top of their class at just about everything they do. Like Reacher, this new character appears to be able to assess a dangerous situation much differently than most, making him able to survive and adapt in scenarios where others would fail.

He may not be a Jack Reacher clone, but this new character is going to give us Reacher fans a lot of the same vibes, and for that I am grateful. We're still waiting on the fourth season of Reacher (and the Neagley spin-off, for that matter), so the arrival of War Machine will help hold us over until those heroes are back on our screens.

It helps that this movie gives Ritchson a pretty sizeable cast of action veterans to work with, including Dennis Quaid and Esai Morales. The cast also includes The Flash alum Keiynan Lonsdale and If Beale Street Could Talk star Stephan James. The War Machine cast list mentions Jai Courtney having a role in the film, but he's completely absent from the trailer (despite appearing in one of the first-look photos).

Netflix's War Machine: Take Two

Jai Courtney and Alan Ritchson talk outside in the desert in War Machine

Given the involvement of Ritchson, smack in the middle of Reacher's run on Prime Video, it's no surprise that War Machine is a solid hit for Netflix. After all, war, action, and sci-fi movies all tend to perform well on Netflix after they're released or added, even if the reviews aren't always great. This movie has a good chance to actually get noticed and remembered by fans, unlike Netflix's first War Machine movie.

No, this isn't a sequel, but it's kind of ridiculous that Netflix has released two original movies titled War Machine within a decade of one another. It's hard to even remember that the first one existed, which is something that can be said for a lot of Netflix original movies not named KPop Demon Hunters. Back in 2017, Netflix released an anti-war dramedy called War Machine that starred Brad Pitt. That was before Netflix really went deep into the feature film business, and Pitt's involvement wasn't even enough to stir up a ton of buzz. The film received middling reviews (a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes) and has been talked about very little in the years since.

Ritchson's War Machine movie has nothing to do with that other film, as made evident by the giant alien robot featured in the trailer. But Reacher fans looking for the action they know and love will find something more memorable.