One of 2012's most pleasant surprises was Christopher McQuarrie's 'Jack Reacher,' which starred Tom Cruise as the titular bad ass. As it was based on a series of books by Lee Child it seemed ready to spawn a franchise, but the film's modestly-hyped Christmas release suggested that Paramount didn't know if they had a winner. The film was a modest success, and now Paramount is working on developing a sequel.

News comes from Deadline that Paramount and Skydance are looking to adapt the most recent Reacher adventure 'Never Go Back,' in which the main character is under suspicion for pummeling a man and impregnating a woman. Currently the project is out to writers. The first 'Reacher' was adapted by Christopher McQuarrie, who will not be working on the sequel as he's currently prepping 'Mission: Impossible 5.'

Word is that Paramount wants this fast, and may try to try to sneak the 'Reacher' sequel into Cruise's schedule before he returns to Ethan Hunt, though he's been circling 'Go Like Hell' for Joseph Kosinski. Currently 'Mission: Impossible 5' is dated for December 25, 2015, so they don't have a lot of time on the clock unless they follow 'Warcraft''s lead and move 'M:I 5' away from 'Star Wars: Episode 7,' which is currently scheduled to open December 18, 2015.

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