Cobie Smulders talks character & family dynamics in Jack Reacher 2

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Women getting to kick some ass in the movies is something that’s become the topic of discussion over the last few years. Both Marvel and DC have solo, female-led superhero flicks on the way, and many actresses are getting some action alongside seasoned male action stars. One of those actresses in Cobie Smulders and she's getting to break skulls alongside action vet Tom Cruise in the upcoming flick JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK.

Smulders (who also plays Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) sat down with EW to talk about being in a more grounded action movie, one that doesn’t have men in iron suits or thunder gods:

“It is so exciting to see these superheroes fight one another. The [human characters] are, like, ‘I’m just gonna make some phone calls.’ So it was really fun to be in a movie where you had to fight for your life at every opportunity. No weapons, no superpowered gear, no SHIELD agency beyond you. You’re on the run.

Though the movie will have its fair share of destruction and mayhem, there’s a lot more to the dynamic between Reacher (Cruise) and Major Susan Turner (Smulders) than just both being able to punch things:

It’s an interesting dynamic between these two characters, who are so used to being alone and being in charge. Now they have to work together. Initially, that goes horribly wrong, and they have to reconfigure themselves.

Things get even dicier when a girl claiming to be Reacher’s daughter (Danika Yarosh) gets into the mix, making for an almost dysfunctional-family dynamic:

She becomes a big part of the story. So now we’re in this weird family dynamic. My character did not ask to be saddled with this type of responsibility, and so there’s a constant clashing of ideas. At the same time, they’re all being hunted, all being chased.

Among all the chaos and family drama not only do Reacher and Turner have to work together, but they also have to resist…the temptation:

These are two people who don’t have much time to date. They started a relationship just by being friendly and helping each other out, and that blossomed into more. Reacher decides to seek out Turner, and maybe ask her out.

Smulders is a talented actress and her star doesn’t show any signs of dimming, and if her words reveal anything about the style of REACHER, it sounds like it’ll be a romantic-family-drama-action movie where Tom Cruise spends a lot of time punching people while learning to love. I mean, as long as it all makes for a cohesive movie I don’t care. But if Cruise and Smulders don't individually break at least 50 skulls I will be very upset.

JACK REACHER 2: NEVER GO BACK with Tom Cruise and Cobie Smulders hits theaters October 21.