Don’t Worry, Amazon’s ‘Jack Ryan’ Will Let John Krasinski Be Funny

Michael Bay’s 13 Hours definitely pushed John Krasinski a bit closer to action hero than Office-mate, but one wouldn’t hire the erstwhile Jim Halpert if not some of those classic camera-mugs, right? We’ll find out when Krasinski leads Amazon Tom Clancy drama Jack Ryan, as showrunner Carlton Cuse says the actor will “bring his particular brand of humor” to the CIA hero.

IGN reports that while the series lacks an official greenlight from Amazon as of yet, Cuse claimed at the TCA press tour “we’re moving forward on all fronts trying to get the scripts in place and come up with a production plan.” The new series won’t follow any specific Jack Ryan book, but rather spotlight a contemporary take on the character in his prime as a CIA analyst/operative, for which Cuse assured that Krasinski would bring enough humor to match his action-hero physique:

Krasinski was the first guy that really came into our mind. We had seen him in 13 Hours, and he got kind of all jacked up for that movie. He looks fantastic. The character needs to be cerebral and also physical, and then John has the extra added benefit of being funny, and that’s something that I also think has not really been fully realized in the other incarnations of the character. That seemed like a really great opportunity was to bring his particular brand of humor to this iteration of Jack Ryan.

It would be I think a waste of John’s talents as an actor to not take advantage of the fact that he is a funny, charming guy as part of the way in which we make that character our own for this iteration of the show.

The project was confirmed back in September with a straight-to-series commitment, reuniting the LOST duo of co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and writer Graham Roland, and adding Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, Skydance Media and Paramount TV. Over the years, Ryan has been portrayed by Alec Baldwin in 1990's The Hunt for Red October, Harrison Ford in 1992's Patriot Games and 1994's Clear and Present Danger, Ben Affleck in 2002's The Sum of All Fears, and most recently by Star Trek star Chris Pine for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

It’s still difficult to imagine Jack Ryan with a humorous side, but is Krasinski a strong fit for the role regardless? Stay tuned for formal updates on the series.