The Correct Order To Watch The Jack Ryan Movies

Tom Clancy's first Jack Ryan novel was "The Hunt for Red October," a 1984 thriller about a Russian submarine and the CIA Agent, Ryan, who has to assure the U.S. military brass that it might have a friendly Russian defector on board. Jack Ryan worked for the CIA, was a former Marine, and had previously been both a stockbroker and a history professor. He wasn't so much an action hero as a nerdy guy in a suit who could engage in action should the situation call for it. In Clancy's books, Jack Ryan would eventually become president. The Jack Ryan novels became seminal airport reading for a generation, and Clancy authored or co-authored 14 of them before his death in 2013. After Clancy's death, other authors perpetuated the character, and even expanded the series to be about Ryan's son, Jack, Jr. All told, there are 36 novels in the Ryanverse, with more doubtlessly still on the way.

Jack Ryan first made his way to the big screen in the 1990 adaptation of "The Hunt for Red October" directed by John McTiernan, wherein the character was played by Alec Baldwin. The defecting Russian submarine commander was played by Sean Connery. The terse, post-Cold War drama resonated with 1990 audiences, and the film became a massive hit, grossing over $200 million on a budget of $30 million. Jack Ryan became a legitimate cinematic presence.

Several other actors would take a turn playing Jack Ryan in the ensuing years, most notably Harrison Ford in the following two films. Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, and John Krasinski would also take their turns playing Jack Ryan. 

There have been five Jack Ryan movies and one TV series. Their correct release order is below.

The release order of the Jack Ryan movies is as follows: 

• John McTiernan's "The Hunt for Red October" (1990)
• Phillip Noyce's "Patriot Games" (1992)
• Phillip Noyce's "Clear and Present Danger" (1994)
• Phil Alden Robinson's "The Sum of All Fears" (2002)
• Kenneth Branagh's "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit" (2014)
• "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" (TV series, 2018 – 2023)

As mentioned, Alec Baldwin played Jack Ryan in "October," while Harrison Ford took over the role for "Patriot" and "Danger." These are handsome, lithe actors, but it's notable that they're not 21-year-old, over-muscled action stars. The point of Jack Ryan, at least in the first three films, is that he's a pencil pusher, one of the military's best nerds. He could handle himself in a fight, but didn't find himself in positions where he needed to very often. 

"The Sum of All Fears" de-aged Jack Ryan into Ben Affleck, and he was just as capable of playing a nerdy CIA spook. "Fears" wasn't quite as big a hit at the box office as its predecessors, however, mostly because of bad timing. "Fears" is a thriller about terrorists blowing up American cities, and American audiences weren't in the mood for that kind of thriller in the wake of 9/11. "Fears," however, is slick and excellent and certainly worth rediscovery. 

"Shadow Recruit" was a lackluster film. Branagh cast himself as the film's Russian villain, facing off against Chris Pine's Jack Ryan, and he made the villain more interesting than the hero. "Recruit" made even less than "Fears."

The TV series "Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan" cast John Krasinski as the nerdy hero, only this time, he was more of a typical action star. The series ran for four seasons on Prime, concluding in July 2023.