Cobie Smulders poised to join Tom Cruise in "Jack Reacher 2"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Cobie Smulders is poised to star in "Jack Reacher" sequel as the female lead. The "How I Met Your Mother" actress is in early talks to star opposite Tom Cruise in "Jack Reacher 2", AceShowbiz said.

Details surrounding her casting are still cloudy but TheWrap reported that she landed the coveted role of Danika. Rosamund Pike starred as the female lead in first film but Cruise liked to keep things fresh by introducing new characters.

Edward Zwick of "The Last Samurai" is taking over the directing duties from Christopher McQuarrie who will resume his involvement in the sequel as executive producer alongside Cruise and Don Granger. "We had a very good experience together, and when you've had a good experience together, you are drawn to try to capture lightning in a bottle again," Zwick said previously about his reunion with Cruise.

Based on Lee Child's novel "Never Go Back", "Jack Reacher" grossed $218 million worldwide. The sequel will follow Reacher as he travels to the headquarters of the U.S. Army Military Police Corps to have a dinner with his female commanding officer. By the time he gets there, she has been arrested, and Reacher finds himself being charged with pummeling one guy and fathering a child with a woman. He can't remember either transgression but gets to the bottom of it with cunning and sometimes brute force.

The pic is scheduled to be released in late 2016 with production to kick off in November.