Neagley's Reacher Season 5 Return Fate Addressed By Star (Exclusive)

Maria Sten, who portrays Neagley in the Jack Reacher TV universe, has addressed whether to expect her to return in season 5 of the main series. Neagley has been a staple of the franchise since her debut in season 1, having a crucial role to play in the first three seasons of the main show. However, she was absent during Reacher season 4, the first season not to feature her in any capacity. However, she's now the start of Neagley, a spinoff that dropped all eight episodes September 16 on Prime Video.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley for Neagley season 1, Sten unpacked the possibility that her character will work closely with Reacher once again during season 5 of his show. She explained that, while it's exciting to see Neagley go on her own adventure and tackle a case without the franchise's core protagonist, she believed it's important to keep the door open for the pair to work together again. Ultimately, she said, it's up to the writers whether her presence makes sense for Reacher season 5.

Check out what Sten had to say below:

ScreenRant: From what I've seen so far of Reacher season 4, there's no Neagley. Is it safe to say Neagley is going to be on her own journey in this show moving forward, or is it still a situation where she can pop back into other shows?

Maria Sten: We're excited about Neagley being able to stand on her own, but I think we always want to keep it open to see what feels good. What's the next book that Reacher is going to adapt? I think we'll just have to see. It's up to the writers to decide what they feel is correct for each season. So we'll see is what I can say.

Reacher season 5 pulls from the pages of Make Me, the 20th novel in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. Neagley does not appear in the source material, but that hasn't stopped the show from using her in places from the book series she doesn't appear. She was incorporated into season 1, based on Killing Floor, and season 3, based on Persuader, but doesn't appear in the books they're based on. This opens the door for her to show up at any time in the TV series, since liberties are being taken with her appearances.

Image via MovieStillsDB

But, for now, the focus seems to be on establishing her as her own protagonist, with her new series allowing her room to grow without standing in Reacher's shadow. Neagley season 1 has earned extremely positive reviews, currently holding a Certified Fresh 92% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 critic reviews. It's a positive sign for the franchise's expansion. Her spinoff, alongside Reacher season 4, proved that both characters can stand on their own without overly relying on each other.

However, the crossover elements of both their shows lead to some of the most exciting action sequences and character moments in the franchise. Seeing the pair onscreen together for so long has made them a dynamic action duo, which would be lost if they never shared the screen again. Given Reacher's cameo appearances in Neagley, it seems the creative teams behind both shows are open to the pair crossing over, which might be a good sign for Neagley's future in the main series.

As of writing, Reacher season 5 is filming, with no word yet on whether Sten will make a guest appearance as Neagley or not. However, with Sten open to the possibility and both shows presenting them as working well separately and apart, it's a toss-up as to when they'll never collaborate. But, given how well they work together, it sounds like it's only a matter of time.