Action hero Jack Reacher will not be played by Tom Cruise when the franchise gets a re-boot for television – because the star is too short.

56 year old Cruise, who famously does all his own stunts on movie sets, has played US military police major Jack Reacher in two feature films in 2012 and 2016. However, in creator Lee Child’s books, the character is described as 6ft 5in tall, with hands the size of “dinner plates”. Cruise is 5ft 7in.

Child, speaking to BBC Radio Manchester this week, announced that a new deal had been signed to re-launch the Jack Reacher character as a streaming show, but that Cruise wouldn’t be making the move because “for all his talent, didn't have that physicality”.

Tom CruiseTom Cruise at the premiere of 'Jack Reacher: Never Go Back'

Fans of Child’s books had complained about Cruise's suitability to play Reacher since his casting was announced back in 2011.

The first Jack Reacher film, directed and adapted by Christopher McQuarrie, debuted in 2012, which made $218m (£167m). 2016’s sequel, titled Never Go Back, fared rather less well, so this decision may be fuelled by this consideration.

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“I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He's a really, really nice guy. We had a lot of fun,” Child told host Mike Sweeney. “But ultimately the readers are right. The size of Reacher is really, really important and it's a big component of who he is.”

“The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you're all a little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all his talent, didn't have that physicality. So what I've decided to do is - there won't be any more movies with Tom Cruise. Instead we're going to take it to Netflix or something like that. Long form streaming television, with a completely new actor.”

“I want all those readers who were upset about Tom Cruise to help me out - participate in choosing the right actor for the TV series. We're re-booting and starting over and we're going to try and find the perfect guy.”

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