“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson is raising eyebrows after suggesting President Donald Trump’s return to the White House may have played a role in Amazon abandoning plans to adapt one of his favorite Jack Reacher novels.
The 43-year-old actor, who stars as the towering former military investigator in Prime Video’s hit action series, made the cryptic claim while responding to a fan on Threads about Lee Child’s 1998 novel “Die Trying.”
“My favorite book,” Ritchson wrote. “Fun fact: I had it approved until someone got reelected.”
Ritchson did not name Trump directly in the post, but the timing and his history of publicly criticizing the president led several outlets to interpret the remark as a reference to Trump’s 2024 reelection. Amazon has not publicly confirmed that politics had anything to do with the decision. Entertainment Weekly said it reached out to Amazon, Ritchson and the White House for comment.
“Die Trying,” the second book in Child’s long-running Jack Reacher series, follows Reacher after he and a woman named Holly Johnson are kidnapped by an armed extremist group.
Holly is the daughter of a powerful U.S. official, and the kidnappers belong to a heavily armed militia seeking to break away from the United States and establish its own territory.
The storyline would have put Ritchson’s Reacher directly against an extremist militia, making it considerably more politically charged than some of the other books chosen for the television series.
There is currently no public evidence showing that Trump, the White House or Amazon executives ordered the adaptation canceled because of its subject matter.
The comment nevertheless attracted attention because Ritchson has repeatedly criticized Trump in public.
During a July appearance on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Ritchson made an obscenity-laced comment about an unnamed political figure while discussing Jeffrey Epstein and suggested that person should be in jail.
His remarks were widely interpreted as referring to Trump, who had a documented social relationship with Epstein before the two men later had a falling out. Trump has denied wrongdoing related to Epstein and has not been charged with any crime in connection with him.
Ritchson had already drawn political attention after an older image resurfaced showing him wearing a shirt calling for the arrest of the officers involved in the 2020 Breonna Taylor case.
He later discussed the issue during a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, calling Taylor’s death “a tragic case.”
The White House has responded sharply to Ritchson’s criticism in the past. A spokesperson previously attacked the actor personally and accused him of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” according to the Daily Beast.
The latest controversy also comes amid heightened scrutiny of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ relationship with the Trump administration.
Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural fund and provided another $1 million worth of in-kind support by streaming the inauguration on Prime Video, according to Reuters.
Amazon MGM Studios also paid $40 million for the rights to “Melania,” the documentary centered on First Lady Melania Trump, and reportedly spent another $35 million promoting and distributing the film.
The documentary ultimately grossed more than $16.6 million worldwide during its theatrical run before moving to Prime Video. While that theatrical gross was far below Amazon’s overall investment, its opening was unusually strong for a non-concert documentary.
Bezos, who owns The Washington Post separately from Amazon, also changed the newspaper’s opinion-section mission in 2025 to emphasize what he called “personal liberties and free markets.”
That decision drew criticism from some journalists and readers who viewed it as a political shift, while Post leadership said it was not about supporting any political party.
None of those developments, however, establishes that Bezos or Amazon blocked “Die Trying” because of Trump’s reelection.
Meanwhile, “Reacher” remains one of Prime Video’s biggest franchises.
Season 4 premiered in August 2026 and adapts “Gone Tomorrow,” with Reacher becoming entangled in a deadly conspiracy after a disturbing encounter on a Philadelphia subway. Amazon says the show has already been renewed for a fifth season.
Season 5 will adapt “Make Me,” Child’s 20th Reacher novel. The story follows Reacher to the mysterious town of Mother’s Rest, where he joins a private investigator searching for a missing person and uncovers a dangerous criminal conspiracy.
Production is already underway, with Alan Ritchson returning in the title role alongside new cast members Amanda Ip, Jay Baruchel, Ciara Bravo and Kevin Durand.
So for now, fans may never know exactly how close “Die Trying” came to becoming a season of “Reacher” — or what ultimately caused Amazon to change course.
Ritchson, however, has made it clear that he believes the timing of that decision was significant.
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We all know that Amazon is in bed with Trump.