'Jack Ryan' Ending at Prime Video, Spinoff in the Works
Jack Ryan starring John Krasinski is coming to an end. The Amazon Prime Video series is now shooting its fourth season, which will reportedly be its last. Amazon Studios, Paramount TV Studios, and Skydance are reportedly developing a spin-off featuring a different Tom Clancy character played by Michael Pena.
The final season will not be released for some time, as Amazon still has not announced a premiere date for Season 3, sources told Deadline. Season 4 would likely not be released until 2023. Sources told Deadline Krasinski only signed on to star in four seasons when he agreed to play Jack Ryan and has been heavily involved in directing, writing, and executive producing the series' later episodes.
Pena, who starred in Marvel's Ant-Man movies, will make his debut as Ding Chavez in the final episode of Season 3. Pena was cast in October 2021, when Amazon renewed Jack Ryan for Season 4. Chavez is an important character in Clancy's Jack Ryan novels and joined the CIA after serving in the U.S. Army. He appeared in 22 Jack Ryan Universe novels, including Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Debt of Honor, and Command Authority. Raymond Cruz played the character in the 1994 film adaptation of Clear and Present Danger.
In Jack Ryan Season 3, Jack is wrongly connected to a conspiracy and is suddenly a fugitive. He is wanted by the CIA and an international rogue faction, which forces him to go underground. He travels across Europe trying to avoid capture and stop a global conflict from escalating. Wendell Pierce also stars as James Greet and Michael Kelly plays Mike November. Betty Gabriel, James cosmo, Peter Guinness, Nina Hoss, and Alexei Mavelov also joined the Season 3 cast.
Clancy created Jack Ryan for his 1984 novel The Hunt for Red October, and four other authors have kept the character going since Clancy's death in 2013. In 1990, Paramount adapted The Hunt for Red October, with Alec Baldwin playing the part. Harrison Ford played the role in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), while Ben Affleck starred in The Sum of All Fears (2002). Chris Pine took a crack at the role in Shadow Recruit (2014), which was a critical and financial disappointment.
Amazon's Jack Ryan debuted in August 2018 and was created by Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland. The show has earned positive reviews from critics and earned three Primetime Creative Arts Emmy nominations. Even while starring in the show, Krasinski found time to direct the two A Quiet Place movies for Paramount.