In Just 3 Days, Alan Ritchson Proves He Doesn't Need 'Reacher' as New Sci-Fi Movie Hits Instant-Classic Status

2 weeks ago 14

Alan Ritchson as 81 in Netflix's 'War Machine'

Published Mar 10, 2026, 4:37 PM EDT

Adam Blevins began working in the entertainment industry in 2022 as a Staff Writer for Agents of Fandom, where he progressed to Senior Editor and interviewed talent from Marvel Studios, House of the Dragon, and Planet of the Apes. He joined Collider as a News Author in April 2024, was promoted to a Senior position in December 2024, and has written over 3,000 articles for the site, including exclusives relating to Avengers: Doomsday, The Penguin, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and more. He primarily writes about the latest box office numbers and the hottest movies and TV shows on streaming, while also covering superhero and sci-fi news. He has completed a set visit for The Chosen and even has several months of experience writing Gaming Features at ScreenRant. You can find him on X, LinkedIn, and Muckrack.

Best known for his role in Reacher, Alan Ritchson has become one of the biggest action stars in the world. While Reacher will remain the flagship project that he returns to year after year, he has branched out over the last few years with big feature films like The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. The WWII action thriller co-stars Henry Cavill, and it was written and directed by Guy Ritchie. Late last year, Ritchson strengthened his relationship with Prime Video by starring in a comedic replacement for Reacher, Playdate, which co-stars Kevin James. The film is still one of Prime Video’s most popular movies around the world.

Ritchson’s latest endeavor is certainly one of his most ambitious. He headlines Netflix’s new sci-fi action movie, War Machine, which follows a gang of Army Ranger recruits who find themselves on the run from a deadly robot on the day of their final test. Ritchson co-stars alongside Dennis Quaid and Esai Morales in the film, which was just added to Netflix last Friday. It was not given a theatrical release, but it has been met with a mostly positive response. It currently holds scores of 69% from critics and 76% from audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.

Patrick Hughes wrote and directed War Machine, and both he and Ritchson have confirmed that the sequel to the film is already deep in development. While we live in an era where sequels are often left hanging in the air for years without an official greenlight, this likely won’t be the case for War Machine. The Lionsgate-produced action picture scored 39.3 million views during its first three days on Netflix, making it one of the biggest openings for any Netflix movie, ever.

The ‘War Machine’ Sequel Could Fix Its Biggest Problem

The inevitable sequel to War Machine, which is likely to get fast-tracked to production now that such strong viewership numbers have come in, has a chance to right the original film’s biggest wrong. The action in War Machine is undeniably intense, but the alien design of a giant two-legged robot just doesn’t hold up as well to similar military sci-fi movies like Edge of Tomorrow and The Tomorrow War. War Machine 2 will likely introduce a much more interesting antagonist for 81 to face off against.

Be sure to check out Alan Ritchson’s War Machine only on Netflix and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the sequel.