Amazon's Best Action Thriller Franchise Officially Returns In 2 Months

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John Krasinski as Jack Ryan in Prime Video's Ghost War

Published Mar 20, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT

Shawn S. Lealos is an entertainment writer who is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He has written for Screen Rant, CBR, ComicBook, The Direct, The Sportster, Chud, 411mania, Renegade Cinema, Yahoo Movies, and many more.

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He also wrote Dollar Deal: The Story of the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers, the first official book about the Dollar Baby film program. Shawn is also currently writing his first fiction novel under a pen name, based in the fantasy genre.

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One of Amazon Prime Video's most successful original thriller franchises is back this year, but it is coming in a very different format. Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is a series that brought the CIA operative back to the small screen, with a series that followed his early adventures. It is now getting a new release in 2026.

Jack Ryan: Ghost War Releases On May 20

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War is the continuation of Prime Video's Jack Ryan streaming series, and it debuts on the streamer on May 20. While John Krasinski's hero was initially involved in season-long stories, this time it is a movie, and it has a very familiar setup, similar to another spy TV series from the past.

Like 24, the new Jack Ryan series will operate in real time as Ryan has countless lives to save in a short time. The synopsis reveals that Jack will reunite with Mike November (Michael Kelly) and former CIA boss James Greer (Wendell Pierce) to fight an enemy that somehow knows their every move.

They also have a new partner in the series, with Sienna Miller joining the cast as MI6 officer Emma Marlowe, and the team faces a threat from the past and an intense betrayal that they thought was put to rest years before.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War is a movie, but it won't be getting the big screen treatment and will debut on the streamer. This might be a test run as well to see if the movie does as well as the series, which could lead to more releases for the franchise.

Why Prime Video Is Releasing A Jack Ryan Movie Rather Than Season 5

John Krasinski as Jack Ryan in Ghost War

It might surprise fans of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan to know that it is a movie rather than a new season of the Prime Video streaming series that fans had fallen in love with. The last season ended with Jack Ryan saying he was taking time off after a Congressional hearing, and the trailer shows how he is forced back into action.

Andrew Bernstein (Ozark) directs the movie, based on a script by Aaron Rabin (Nobody 2) and John Krasinski. The reason for the switch to the movie remains unknown, but it is likely due to Krasinski's movie career, as shooting a TV series takes a lot of time, and Krasinski is still planning a new Quiet Place movie.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to what John Krasinski has said in the past. Krasinski said he wanted the show to end after four seasons, but he did say he would return for a smaller role in the future. Krasinski said ending the show was always the plan, but the movie was always a possibility.

Not only that, but Krasinski has made it clear he would love the franchise to continue on with a spin-off series following the Michael Peña character of Domingo “Ding” Chavez. He could even return in a small role in that series. This would mean a Rainbow Six series, which should excite Tom Clancy fans.

Why Jack Ryan Is Amazon's Best Thriller Franchise

John Krasinski's Jack Ryan running through a group of cars with his gun drawn in Jack Ryan season 4

Before Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War, the story played out as a streaming series, with the Prime Video show running for four seasons, from 2018 to 2023. The four seasons accounted for 30 episodes, and this is the first movie spinning out of the series. This series was mainly an origin story for Jack Ryan.

This was exciting because Tom Clancy's novels remain among the best-selling American spy novels of all time. The movies were all successful, with the five films totaling $923.9 million at the box office. The first three films received positive reviews, with the last two receiving RT scores in the 50s.

However, the Prime Video series revitalized the franchise, and John Krasinski slipped into the role perfectly. The first season finished with a 75% positive RT score, and while the second dropped to 67%, the third and fourth seasons finished with high 81% and 87% Rotten Tomatoes scores.

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan also did well in the awards season, with two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 2019 and one more in 2020. Now, with Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War, fans can get more of the critically acclaimed action and enjoy it in a tight movie with Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War this May.