Jack Ryan spoilers follow.
After a long, three-year wait after season two dropped in 2019, CIA agent Jack Ryan is finally back for the third season of Jack Ryan, and the good news is that a fourth season is already in production.
Having saved the day – and the world – more than once, it's surely time for Jack to get a happy ending, or at least get a break that's long enough for him to grab a sandwich.
We're sure there'll be another international crisis for him to prevent in season four and while we wait for episodes, here's everything you need to know about what lies ahead for the bullet-dodging CIA operative and his friends…
Jack Ryan season 4 potential release date: When will the series return?
Watch Jack Ryan on Prime Video
There is still no news on when the release date for Jack Ryan season 4 will be, but we have a feeling it will be announced sometime in the very near future.
Jack Ryan was renewed for another season in October 2021 (so looong ago), and began shooting its fourth season back in February 2022, with the crew spotted filming in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Previous seasons have taken about 18 months to appear on Amazon after production has started, so we would expect to be able to watch season four in mid to late 2023.
We can confirm that filming on season four has now officially finished, so we're nearing the end of our wait period. Sadly it was announced in May 2022 that this will be the final season of Jack Ryan, so we're expecting a pretty spectacular ride. No pressure, Vaun Wilmott.
Jack Ryan season 4 cast: Who will be returning?
CIA agent Jack will, of course, be back for season four. However, this will likely be his final mission as it has been reported that star John Krasinski's original contract was for four seasons only.
While it has been confirmed that Jack Ryan season four is the last in the series currently planned, Krasinski has teased it may not be the last we see of the CIA agent.
"We actually shot season three and season four back to back for almost two years straight trying to make this show," he recently told E! News. "I don't know if this is the last time I'll play this character… I might just do it tonight in my living room, just to keep it going!"
Fans of Tom Clancy's novels will be pleased to hear that, while Jack may be hanging up his holster, season four will not be the end of the Ryan universe. In May 2022, Deadline reported that while Amazon had confirmed that season four would be the last, spin-offs were already planned, including one starring Michael Peña.
Peña, best known for his roles in Narcos: Mexico and Ant-Man, will join the season-four cast as Ding Chavez, a character well known to readers of the Clancy novels. He is a CIA officer from LA who has appeared in many of the Jack Ryan books, and was also a character in 1994's Clear And Present Danger movie adaptation (where he was played by Raymond Cruz).
There will also be a familiar face returning for the final season of Jack Ryan who hasn't been seen since season one – Jack's love interest Cathy Mueller, as played by Abbie Cornish.
As fans know, Cathy was never written out of the series, and was still with Jack at the end of season one. She was absent in season two – Jack did mention he was single in one episode – and wasn't mentioned in the current third season, either. However, Deadline reports that she will be back for the fourth season, although there is no information as yet on how she will be reintroduced.
Other cast members are yet to be confirmed, but since they both survived to the final episode of season three, we would expect to see CIA agent James Greer (Wendell Pierce) and former agent Mike November (Michael Kelly) return for the final season.
Jack Ryan season 4 plot: What will happen?
Something exciting this way comes or so, Wilmott teases. During an interview with CBR the showrunner revealed: "The end of season three is a launch into season four, in so much as Jack is in a good place with the CIA.
"Without giving you any spoilers, he takes a different role in season four that we haven't seen before, [one] that allows us to explore another aspect of Jack Ryan."
He added: "Season four is another exciting ride – very international, different characters, new villains, and it allows us to play with Jack, Greer, Mike, and everybody in it, in new exciting ways."
The third season shares some similarities with Tom Clancy's book The Hunt For Red October, and it is possible one of Clancy's other books could be used as the basis or starting off point for season four.
However, as there are 21 novels (some co-written by Mark Greaney, Mike Maden and Marc Cameron with Tom Clancy, and others written by Greaney and Grant Blackwood after Clancy's death in 2013), it's anyone's guess which one could be used as a blueprint for the final season.
In fact, the plot is being kept as secret as a CIA classified document, but the return of Jack's romantic interest from season one, Cathy Mueller, could hint at a vital part of the story. In the novels, she becomes Jack's wife, so it is possible we could see a wedding in season four. Maybe that will be the happy ending for Jack at the end of the series?
We also know Jack will team up with fellow agent Ding Chavez (Michael Peña), before Chavez's character gets his own spin-off series.
It remains to be seen whether other beloved characters, like Greer and Mike, will be in on the action, or where the series will be set.
Jack Ryan season 4 trailer: Is there any footage yet?
Season three has only just dropped on Amazon Prime, so it is unlikely we will see a trailer for season four until spring 2023 at the earliest. Of course, once it is released, we'll have it here, so don't forget to check back for updates.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan seasons 1-3 are available now on Prime Video.
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