Alan Ritchson’s massive new co-star teases Reacher season 3. The coming showdown between Richters’ menacing henchman and Ritchson’s ever-cool Jack is just one reason the show is arguably Prime Video’s most-anticipated return of 2025.

It’s yet to be seen how Jack will fare when he faces off against a man who’s even bigger and meaner than him, but for his part, Paulie actor Richters promises a battle for the ages, hyping the fight scene’s extended length while praising the work the show put into pulling off his character’s epic throwdown with Ritchson’s Reacher (via Empire Online):

“The effort they put into Reacher versus Paulie is astonishing. … We might be a little bit immortal in the fight, because it continues for so long. … I’m not going to say we’re going to win an Oscar for the fight scene, but it’s going to be spectacular.”

What Jack And Paulie's Fight Means For Reacher Season 3

The Show Isn't Shaking Up The Formula Too Much

Reacher season 3’s trailer offered a sampling of Paulie and Jack’s fight, but to go by Richters’ remarks, the full scene is longer and more grueling than anything hinted at in the clip. Fights between Jack and various thugs are a big part of the Reacher formula, of course, but it’s rare that Ritchson’s physically powerful character ever seems in real danger of getting beaten up. That’s not the case with season 3’s Paulie vs. Jack showdown, given that Richters stands 10 inches taller than Ritchson and weighs over a hundred pounds more (all of it muscle).

Reacher season 3's cast also includes Maria Sten, Anthony Michael Hall, Sonya Cassidy, Brian Tee, Johnny Berchtold, Roberto Montesinos, and Daniel David Stewart.

Richters’ literally huge presence is a tangible sign of how Prime Video’s smash hit series means to up the ante over Reacher seasons 1 and 2. Generally speaking, the show’s formula seems largely unchanged in season 3, with a story that sees Reacher again getting sucked into a mystery involving his past, again being pitted against an array of nefarious characters, and again finding a new love interest who is his equal in everything but physical size.

Our Take On Reacher Season 3’s Paulie Vs. Jack Battle

Paulie Is Jaws To Reacher’s 007

Pitting Reacher against someone who makes him look small for a change alters the dynamic for season 3. Indeed, the presence of Paulie is likely the main reason producers chose Persuader as the Reacher novel to adapt next. Jack has fought plenty of random bad guys, but the show needs a unique, signature henchman to pit him again. The James Bond series was in a similar place at the time of The Spy Who Loved Me, and responded by delivering a truly memorable Bond adversary in Jaws, played by the gigantic Richard Kiel.

Jaws vs. 007 indeed proved so popular with audiences that the series brought Kiel’s character back for Moonraker. It’s yet to be seen if Reacher will find an excuse to keep Paulie around for a rematch, but to do so would require a major reworking of Child’s novel. The show is crafty about the changes it makes to the source material, however, so nothing is off the table when it comes to Reacher’s most imposing enemy yet.

Reacher season 3 premieres with three episodes Feburary 19 on Prime Video.

Source: Empire Online