Reacher Star Shares Detailed Description of New Villain and Season 3 Opening Scenes (2024)

Anthony Michael Hall has spoken about his upcoming villain role in Prime Video’s Reacher series, teasing a complex character with many layers to be peeled back over the course of Season 3. The Alan Ritchson-led series is currently filming its third season, and after breaking records with Season 2, expectations are high for a repeat performance when Ritchson returns as Lee Child’s action hero.

Reacher

TV-MA

Action

Crime

Drama

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

Release Date

February 4, 2022

Cast

Alan Ritchson , Maria Sten , Malcolm Goodwin , Willa Fitzgerald

Main Genre

Action

Seasons

2

Creator

Nick Santora

In Reacher Season 3, Hall will play Zachary Beck, the latest bad guy to come up against Ritchson’s Jack Reacher. While the new season is not expected to hit Prime Video until early 2025, Hall recently discussed what fans can expect from his character in an interview with ScreenRant. Season 3 is based on Child’s novel, Persuader, and fans of the novels will already know all they need to about Beck. For everyone else, Hall spilled some new details on the character, saying:

“This particular season is based on one of the books called Persuader, which is a type of gun. I'm playing a great character, and a lot of it has been drawn heavily from the book. I read the book a few times now. The character is Zachary Beck, and on the surface, he's like a kingpin of wholesale drug dealing. But the truth is that it's a front; it's a cover for something a little seedier. I don't want to say much more than that, but it was also an interesting dynamic because he's not an outright villain [like] my character of Ezekiel Swan in Trigger Warning.”

Hall went on to explain how Beck and Reacher come into contact with each other, noting that the opening of Season 3 finds Reacher saving Beck’s son, who gets beaten up by a group of assumed “townies.” According to Hall, after Reacher “comes in, kicks some ass, saves the day,” Beck’s son suggests Reacher should contact his dad for some work. Hall continued:

“I don't want to say too much more than that, but basically, that's the story; this father-son dynamic. But then there's also this whole thing of Zachary Beck and who he represents to Reacher. Reacher will be working for him, but as you know, he's kind of a double agent. He's still working with that whole thing. There's an excellent actor named Brian Tee, who's also a part of this season. His character steps out of the shadows, and you realize that the two of us are into some dirty dealings. It's going to lead to a broader story that my son gets involved in and further linked into, if that makes sense.”

Anthony Michael Hall Has a Lot of Praise for Alan Ritchson

Reacher Season 3 looks set to be another self-contained story within the franchise, and Hall’s antagonist is going to be a unique and conflicted adversary for Jack Reacher to handle in his own way. When it came to discussing working with Ritchson, Hall is more than happy to heap praise on the lead star of the series. He said:

“I like Alan a lot. He's a standup guy. He's fun to work with. He's very serious about the filmmaking aspect. I mean, it's a television show we're making, but it's streaming all around the world. And I know that he's put in his time; he's 41.

There are moments that I've had on the set where it reminded me of when I had The Dead Zone. Suddenly you're beset with a great opportunity, and you're the star of the show, and you don't get a day off. You've got to really summon the energy to really be there, present, and doing your work. But he's also an executive producer on the show, so there are things that I can relate to because I've been in that position. But I like him a lot. He's a very nice guy; very humble guy. And he's very personable too. He's very cool with people on the set.”

While Reacher’s second season drew some heavy criticism over its dialogue and plot pacing, viewership of Ritchson’s return as Reacher was everything that Prime Video could have hoped for. With fans already hyped for Season 3, by the time the show returns in just over six months, it is likely to be another record breaker for the franchise.