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Reacher Star Alan Ritchson Blames Trump Election for Scrapped Storyline

4 sources · updated 2026-09-23
Left 0% Center 0% Right 100%
0 left · 0 center · 4 right

What happened

Alan Ritchson, star of Amazon Prime Video’s series Reacher, posted on Threads that he had approval to adapt Lee Child’s 1998 novel Die Trying — a story in which the character confronts a white supremacist militia — until “someone got re-elected.” The remark was a reply to a fan who said they were disappointed the show would not adapt “the book where he kills his way through a white supremacist militia camp.” At a Fan Expo Canada panel earlier this month, Ritchson also said studios, including Sony, had called and asked him to stop talking about politics in public. Fox News Digital contacted Sony and Amazon Prime Video for comment; no responses were reported.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 4 articles

3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.

What these terms mean and how they're counted
On the record · names a source 3 of 3
On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Alan Ritchson
Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 3
Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
Credits another outlet 1 of 3
The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: The Christian Post
Unnamed sources 1 of 3
The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
How it developed
When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 21, 16:42 UTC by Breitbart, naming its source.
Not counted 1
Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT. Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story — the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Left-leaning coverage has not reported this story. Right-leaning coverage says Reacher star Alan Ritchson claimed he had Die Trying approved until "someone got re-elected." That novel is the one where Reacher kills his way through a white supremacist militia. Fox News adds that it asked Amazon Prime Video and Sony for comment, and no studio reply appears. A reader of the silent side never sees the allegation. A reader of the right still has no confirmation the season was greenlit or killed. Right-leaning outlets also split on emphasis. Fox News leads with Ritchson saying studios told him to stop talking in public. A second Breitbart piece instead opens on box-office failure after Runner's $6 million opening and treats the storyline as secondary to his feud with Trump. Did Amazon ever approve a Die Trying season, and did anyone at the studio cite the election?
Bottom line

Ritchson's "someone got re-elected" line about a killed Reacher season is only in right-leaning outlets, and Fox News still has no Amazon confirmation it was ever greenlit.

The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
  • Alan Ritchson wrote that he had Die Trying approved until someone got re-elected official statementin Breitbart, Fox News · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • At Fan Expo Canada, Ritchson said Sony told him not to talk and then declared Pedos win individual casein Fox News · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • In July Ritchson said the president should go to jail while discussing the Epstein files individual casein Breitbart · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • In a 2024 Hollywood Reporter interview Ritchson said Trump is a rapist and a con man and the Christian church treats him like a poster child individual casein Fox News · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Motor City grossed $3 million after a wide release in 1,600 theaters numberin Breitbart · absent from left-leaning coverage
The Right View
Breitbart, Fox News, and the New York Post treated Ritchson’s Threads post as a claim that Amazon dropped a greenlit Reacher storyline after President Donald Trump’s re-election. They tied it to a longer public feud: Ritchson’s July comments urging that Trump “go to jail” over the Epstein files, a 2024 Hollywood Reporter interview in which he called Trump “a rapist and a con man,” and his Fan Expo remarks that studios told him to “shut the f--- up” about politics (he added “Pedos win” after mentioning Epstein). Breitbart’s Nolte column additionally framed recent theatrical films Motor City and Runner as box-office failures and argued Ritchson’s political comments alienate the action audience. Christian Toto, quoted by Fox and the Post, said the rants were “hysterical blather,” that Reacher fans were noticing, and that Ritchson appeared to be sabotaging his own projects.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is thin. What is established is that Ritchson made these public statements: a Threads post implying Die Trying was approved then dropped after the election, and panel comments that studios asked him to stay quiet. What remains alleged and uncorroborated is the causal claim itself — that Amazon actually greenlit then killed that storyline because Trump was re-elected. No internal documents, named executives, or on-the-record confirmation from Amazon or Sony appear in the reporting; Fox News said it sought comment and none was reported. Ritchson’s prior attacks on Trump are separately documented interviews and remarks, not proof of a studio decision. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for any statement from Amazon Prime Video, Sony, or Reacher producers; evidence of which books were actually approved; and whether future seasons confirm or contradict the adaptation claim.

4 sources

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