Jack Reacher Author Is Right About The Source Material For Zac Efron's Upcoming "Sci-Fi" Movie
By Dan Bibby
October 24th, 2025
Zac Efron is set to appear in an upcoming A24 movie that straddles genres, and the legendary author of the Jack Reacher novels has managed to put what I'm feeling about the project into words in a way that I was unable to. The book on which the movie is based could easily be sci-fi, but it could also be something else entirely.
Lee Child has been writing the Jack Reacher books since the 1990s, with the first installment in the literary franchise being published in 1997. November 2025 will see the series' 30th entry, so Child certainly knows his stuff when it comes to the literary world. While he hasn't weighed in on the upcoming movie directly, he has commented on the source material.
Lee Child has been writing the Jack Reacher books since the 1990s, with the first installment in the literary franchise being published in 1997. November 2025 will see the series' 30th entry, so Child certainly knows his stuff when it comes to the literary world. While he hasn't weighed in on the upcoming movie directly, he has commented on the source material.
Lee Child Says Blake Crouch Has "Invented Something New" By Writing Famous
If you're a sci-fi fan, you may have come across the name Blake Crouch a few times. He's most known as a sci-fi author but has also worked on live-action adaptations of his own work. Perhaps his most famous book is 2016's Dark Matter, which is set to receive a sequel on Apple TV+. His other most well-renowned sci-fi book/show is Wayward Pines, which ran for two seasons between 2015 and 2016, and was based on Crouch's book trilogy of the same name.
Originally published in 2010, Famous is one of Crouch's lesser-known works, although it has experienced a notable revival since A24 started working on a movie adaptation starring Zac Efron in the lead role(s). The book itself was also republished in September 2025, presumably as part of the marketing for the upcoming adaptation.
I picked up a copy of Famous earlier this year because I love Blake Crouch's books, although I'd admittedly only read his sci-fi efforts. He does write stories of other genres, but I haven't gotten around to checking them out yet. Even when I was reading it, I couldn't quite decide whether Famous was sci-fi, or if I'd actually bought one of Blake's efforts outside the genre for which he's most known.
When I finished reading the book, I noticed a comment from Lee Child on the cover. It reads: "Brilliant. A book to remember. I think Blake Crouch just invented something new." Perfectly phrased by a man who's paid to put things into words. I think Child is 100% correct. Famous is neither one thing nor another. It's a blend of various genres that have come together to create a story that stands on its own.
Originally published in 2010, Famous is one of Crouch's lesser-known works, although it has experienced a notable revival since A24 started working on a movie adaptation starring Zac Efron in the lead role(s). The book itself was also republished in September 2025, presumably as part of the marketing for the upcoming adaptation.
I picked up a copy of Famous earlier this year because I love Blake Crouch's books, although I'd admittedly only read his sci-fi efforts. He does write stories of other genres, but I haven't gotten around to checking them out yet. Even when I was reading it, I couldn't quite decide whether Famous was sci-fi, or if I'd actually bought one of Blake's efforts outside the genre for which he's most known.
When I finished reading the book, I noticed a comment from Lee Child on the cover. It reads: "Brilliant. A book to remember. I think Blake Crouch just invented something new." Perfectly phrased by a man who's paid to put things into words. I think Child is 100% correct. Famous is neither one thing nor another. It's a blend of various genres that have come together to create a story that stands on its own.
Why Blake Crouch's Famous Is VERY Close To Being Sci-Fi (But Probably Isn't)
Zac Efron is playing two characters in Famous. The first is the story's main character, a no-good waster named Lance Dunkquist, and the second is a famous actor called James Jansen. The main focus of the book is that Lance looks EXACTLY like James, and is often mistaken for him. Although Lance needs to take certain steps, like copying James' haircut, there is almost no one who can tell them apart.
Lance and James aren't related, they aren't clones, they aren't the same person from different points in time, they aren't the result of a Star Trek-esque transporter accident. The story features exactly zero identifiable sci-fi tropes, and it never tries to convince you that any are hiding away somewhere, ready to pounce in some big twist. The "twist," if you want to call it that, is that Lance and James are identical without explanation, but it's immediately part of the book's narrative fabric.
I've never read anything like Famous. It's both incredibly grounded, has elements of a psychological thriller, and it also forced me to constantly suspend my disbelief when it came to the story's core concept — in the best way possible. To mirror Lee Child's sentiment, Famous is truly original, and I can't wait to see how Zac Efron and company approach the adaptation process.
Lance and James aren't related, they aren't clones, they aren't the same person from different points in time, they aren't the result of a Star Trek-esque transporter accident. The story features exactly zero identifiable sci-fi tropes, and it never tries to convince you that any are hiding away somewhere, ready to pounce in some big twist. The "twist," if you want to call it that, is that Lance and James are identical without explanation, but it's immediately part of the book's narrative fabric.
I've never read anything like Famous. It's both incredibly grounded, has elements of a psychological thriller, and it also forced me to constantly suspend my disbelief when it came to the story's core concept — in the best way possible. To mirror Lee Child's sentiment, Famous is truly original, and I can't wait to see how Zac Efron and company approach the adaptation process.
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