The return of John Krasinski’s version of Jack Ryan in an upcoming movie has a tricky challenge to overcome. Though news that the Jack Ryan movie has started filming dropped recently, Prime Video has given little information on the film’s larger plot details, the promotional image used in their announcement giving nothing away. That said, given how Jack Ryan season 4 ended, we can predict a few things about what will happen in the film.

Krasinski’s Jack Ryan is one of the most popular adaptations of Tom Clancy’s material, with the actor’s take on the CIA analyst turned action hero garnering the Prime Video show’s final season an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Therefore, it makes sense for the new Jack Ryan movie to be connected to the show. However, this means that the film will have to face a problem that previous Jack Ryan adaptations did not.

Will People Have To Have Watched Prime Video’s Jack Ryan To Understand The Movie?

The Jack Ryan Film Could Repeat An MCU Problem

If audiences have to watch Prime Video’s Jack Ryan to understand the film, it could end up hurting the new movie’s chances at the box office. It is safe to ᴀssume that the Jack Ryan film will take place after the events of season 4, where Ryan and his allies exposed Triad’s connection to the CIA, allowing for an easy segue into a new mission. However, if the film’s plot is too connected to the show, the project risks limiting its audience in a way the MCU did with some of its Disney+ shows.

For example, several of the plotlines from series like WandaVision carried over to the larger MCU, which let the story grow but also confused audiences who may not have seen the series beforehand. If the Jack Ryan movie does the same, it might struggle to reach a wider audience, many of whom might not have watched the show. Regardless of how connected to the show the film will be, the upcoming Jack Ryan film is already very different from previous theatrical iterations of the character.

John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan Movie Will Be The First Of Its Kind After Five Installments

Krasinski’s Character Is Going In The Opposite Direction To Other Franchises

The Jack Ryan movie will be the first of its kind after decades of adaptations of Clancy’s works, allowing Krasinski’s version of the character a unique trajectory franchise-wise. Krasinski’s Jack Ryan will be the first to jump from television to the big screen, which is something that might become more common as big franchises like Marvel and Star Wars are experimenting more and more with TV shows.

The Prime Video series did not cover any of the original plots from Clancy’s novels; rather, writers Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland created a new story for the series. That could allow the film to place the character in one of those older stories, pushing this rendition into new situations while returning him to his roots. It can also allow the new Jack Ryan movie to be more accessible to non-show audiences, giving them the chance to sit back and enjoy Jack Ryan’s latest adventure without any worry.