As fans wait for the already hyped-up Season 4 of Prime Video’s Reacher, star Alan Ritchson continues to build up his movie star cred, most recently with the critic-pleasing man-vs.-bot flick War Machine. (Read our War Machine review here!) He’s got a pair of action-centric features on the way, with a third currently filming, and even if they aren’t all deadly serious dramas, the actor is still making a point of bringing action movie heroes back to being believable human beings again.
To be sure, his 2026 Netflix movie has him and group of soldiers facing off against a giant deadly robot across some incredibly taxing terrain, which isn’t something the average person would excel at. But Ritchson’s character Staff Sergeant 81 isn’t a superhero or any kind of genetically modified warrior; he’s just well-trained, highly motivated by his personal hardships. Which is a theme that carries over into his now-filming biopic of war vet and former Navy SEAL Mike Thornton.
With Sylvester Stallone on board as an executive producer, the currently untitled feature reteams Ritchson with War Machine helmer Patrick Hughes, and centers on Thornton’s tireless and courageous efforts during the final days of the Vietnam War. Speaking to THR about why he wanted to join this particular project, Ritchson connected it to the movie that’s currently crushing in Netflix’s Top 10, saying:
There are a lot of echoes and reverberations from 81’s journey. While [War Machine] is pure fiction, there’s a call to brotherly love that is something sacred and eternal, whether you’re male or female. It’s about sacrificing yourself for a brother. The new film is based on Thornton’s true story near the end of his time in Vietnam as some of the first Navy SEALs. It features characters who wrestle with the prospect of total and utter annihilation but hold onto the flicker of hope. In a world gone terribly wrong and sideways, humanity survives. I am in awe of that.
At a point when so many action movies center on globally (or even galatically) catastrophic stakes, it can be easy for narratives to lose track of the humanity of it all while watching heroes that are 100% guaranteed to come out on top every single time. Ritchson wants to get away from that kind of approach, saying:
We’re living through a period of cinema, especially with the Marvelization of a lot of theatrical tentpole movies in which the protagonists are almost invincible, we’ve reduced the stakes to something wholly unwatchable. There’s no secret that people are sort of over watching Marvel-type movies. Our goal is to create a protagonist who is hanging on by a thread. Can we drag somebody to the brink of death and shoot it in a way that feels real and visceral so that people can actually relate to it on a human level?
To be fair, I dunno that anyone watching War Machine ever truly thought Ritchson's character was truly in danger of being killed off. And if War Machine 2 happens, I doubt he'd succumb to any automaton's attacks in that one, either. But his point is still salient. Even if the actor is a hulking behemoth who looks like he could bring a redwood down from the right angle, audiences know that his character is running purely on adrenaline and not some kind of supersoldier serum.
We may not all be able to relate to an Army Ranger who put his life on the line to save the day, but there's something inspirational about watching someone else do it, and that feeling grows exponentially when it involves a real-life situation like Mike Thornton's Vietnam War heroics. It's harder to be influenced by MCU heroes whose powers and privileges aren't nearly as ubiquitous.
Ritchson says playing characters like 81 help him influence others to hopefully recognize their own strengths while making it through daily struggles.
People are suffering out there. Life is hard, man. By crossing the finish line at the end of the movie, we remind ourselves that we can get through another day. As fun as this movie is, there’s something deeply human that we can connect to. 'If 81 can get through that and get across the finish line, maybe I can too in my own life.'
It's an interesting view to bring to his future projects, seeing as how Ritchson was previously in talks to play a more villainous DC role, though it's not clear whether or not those talks have fizzled out or not. In any case, its probably smarter not to make comic book movie bad guys as relatable and inspirational as the heroes.
Next up on his docket, Ritchson has the Adam Shankman's Christmas-set action movie The Man with the Bag (opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Awkwafina) and Scott Waugh's action thriller Runner, co-starring Owen Wilson. It's unknown when the Navy SEAL biopic will hit theaters, but here's hoping it'll be out before the end of the year.