As reported not seven days ago, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and the good folk at Paramount have been hard at work putting three actresses through their paces to cast One Shot's female lead. Well, time waits for no-one, not even Jack Reacher (although he'd punch it in the face if he ever found out). The votes are in and a decision has been reached: as Deadline Hollywood reports, Rosamund Pike is on the verge of signing up for the Reacher campaign.
Pike, so good lately in** Barney's Version** and An Education, joins Tom Cruise in the Reacher saga. All the talk so far has been on the height discrepancy between Cruise and his character, so it's worth pointing out that he gives away a couple of inches on Pike too. But, seriously, who's measuring? Ahem.
As its many fans will know, One Shot sees Reacher putting his muscular frame and thunderdome-sized brain to work puzzling out the case of a lone sniper. The man has been charged with the murder of five men, but is all as it seems or are darker forces at work? Helping him find out will be Pike's Helen Rodin, a local defence lawyer assigned to defend the supposed shooter.
Pike is an actress we're very keen on in this parish. She's talented and boasts a flawless American accent. We can't see her in a gun battle, but Reacher is more than capable of taking care of the shooting-and-punching business. Hayley Atwell and Clash Of The Titan's Alexa Davalos are the unlucky two to miss out.
The **One Shot **shoot gets underway soon, with a theatrical release scheduled for early 2013.