Michael B. Jordan talks Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse and action movies

Michael B. Jordan in Tom Clancy's Without Remorse

(Image credit: Amazon/Paramount)

The most famous character in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan universe, other than Jack Ryan, is ex-Navy Seal John Clark. A tougher and darker creation – he might be described as a stone-cold killer – Clark has popped up in a couple of Ryan movies (Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears) and the TV series starring John Krasinski. But he’s never headlined a film… until now.

Starring Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther, Creed), Without Remorse is based on Clancy’s 1993 bestseller of the same name, an origin story in which John Kelly suffers a great personal tragedy and pours all of his grief and his anger into taking down an international drug ring. At the end of the book, Kelly is recruited by the CIA under the new identity of John Clark.

As directed by Stefano Sollima (the Gomorrah TV series, Sicario 2: Soldado) from a screenplay by Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water, Wind River), this adaptation updates the book from the era of Vietnam War to make the conflict in Syria central to the action, and there are other changes too – all well thought through, and none of which will be spoiled here. But the bones of the story remain the same, with Jordan, who also produces, and Sollima determined to make an old-school political-thriller full of tight plotting and punctuated by the kind of grounded, high-impact action that would have Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt clenching their fists.

“I loved these type of movies growing up, y’know?” Jordan tells Total Film. “And to be able to build the action sequences… to go from a plane crash to diving underwater to jumping to the side of a burning car to jumping through glass to gunfights and hand-to-hand combat…. For me, it was my ideal movie, and I wanted to pull from a lot of movies that I loved growing up, like Bourne and Mission: Impossible.”

A perfectionist, Jordan was insistent that every detail is correct. “I had Navy Seal training. I worked with Buck Doyle, who’s a Marine Special Forces guy. I spent a lot of time with him on his ranch, gun training and tactical training. And I worked with James Dever, who’s an ex-Marine as well: weapons training, explosives, diving, skydiving, plane crashes…” His grin is one of a man who knows he’s delivered. “There is a lot of action.”

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse launches on Amazon Prime Video on April 30. For much more from Michael B. Jordan, plus director Stefano Sollima and co-star Jodie-Turner Smith, pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film magazine, which hits shelves this Friday, April 2. Check out the new covers below.

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Jamie Graham is the Editor-at-Large of Total Film magazine. You'll likely find them around these parts reviewing the biggest films on the planet and speaking to some of the biggest stars in the business – that's just what Jamie does. Jamie has also written for outlets like SFX and the Sunday Times Culture, and appeared on podcasts exploring the wondrous worlds of occult and horror.