2026 has been a career year for Alan Ritchson, who was once just known for his wacky role as Thad Castle in Blue Mountain State. Flash forward all these years later, and Ritchson has cemented himself as one of the biggest action stars in the world, which can be traced mostly back to his role in the hit Prime Video series, Reacher.
Ritchson first suited up as Lee Child‘s iconic action hero all the way back in 2022, the same year that Prime Video released the first season of The Terminal List, but while Chris Pratt‘s series has only managed one new season since its debut, Reacher is returning soon for Season 5, with Season 6 already confirmed. Ritchson has also found success this year with action movies such as Runner and Motor City, both of which are available to watch at home on VOD platforms.
However, between starring in a new season of Reacher and its spin-off, Neagley, along with all these new action movies, Ritchson also starred in one of the most-watched Netflix titles of the entire year. We’re talking, of course, about War Machine, the big-budget sci-fi thriller that began streaming on the platform around the world back in March. The movie picked up over 135 million views during its first 90 days on streaming, which was enough to earn a spot in the all-time Netflix top 10 most-watched movies ranking.
However, now that there has been more time to collect data, it’s been confirmed that War Machine has fallen short of reaching 150 days in the top 10 this year, as it currently sits at just 137. War Machine‘s run is still impressive, but it’s unlikely to reach this milestone, as it’s no longer in the top 10 in a single country.
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Movies/Science Fiction/Survival Assessment
Collider Survival Assessment Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? 8 questions · 5 worlds · one honest verdict
Five of the great screen futures, and not one of them is built for comfort. Answer eight questions about instinct, loyalty and the line you would cross, and the scan will tell you which one you would still be standing in. Worlds in range
▦︎The Matrix
◈︎Mad Max
◑︎Blade Runner
▲︎Dune
✦︎Star Wars
Question 01 of 08INSTINCT
The world as you know it ends overnight. What is your first move? No wrong answer. There is a wrong hesitation.
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Question 02 of 08RESOURCE
You can stockpile exactly one thing. What is it? Choose carefully. You are not getting a second run.
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Question 03 of 08THREAT
Which kind of enemy scares you the most? Be honest about what keeps you up.
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Question 04 of 08AUTHORITY
How do you handle the people in charge? Every world has them. Even the ones that pretend otherwise.
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Question 05 of 08ENVIRONMENT
Pick the place you would rather wake up in: You will be there a while.
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Question 06 of 08ALLIANCE
Who do you want standing next to you? Pick one. You only get one.
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Question 07 of 08MORALITY
Which line would you cross to survive? Everybody crosses one.
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Question 08 of 08PURPOSE
What are you really fighting for? Last question. Make it count.
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Scan completeYou would survive
▦︎ The Matrix The Resistance, Zion You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
You would survive The Matrix because you were never fully sold on the version of reality you were handed. You notice the seams. You ask the second question. In a world built to keep people comfortable and incurious, that instinct is the whole fight, and it is why Morpheus would have found you long before you found him. From the Collider file
The Wachowskis’ 1999 film won four Academy Awards, including Visual Effects and Film
Editing.
Bullet time was shot with a rig of roughly 120 still cameras firing in sequence around the
actors.
Keanu Reeves trained in martial arts for about four months before a frame was shot,
recovering from neck surgery the whole time.
It opened the same year as Fight Club and eXistenZ, in a run of films about not trusting the
world in front of you.
Red pill energy Pattern spotter Built to question
◈︎ Mad Max The Wasteland Oh, what a day. What a lovely day.
You would survive the Wasteland because you do not waste energy mourning the world that ended. You move, you improvise, and you are very good with whatever is bolted to the thing in front of you. Furiosa would let you drive. That is not a compliment anybody earns easily. From the Collider file
Mad Max: Fury Road won six Academy Awards in 2016, more than any other film that year.
George Miller storyboarded the entire film as roughly 3,500 panels before there was a
script.
The chase was shot almost entirely practical in the Namib Desert, with real vehicles and
real stunt performers.
Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth carried the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in 2024.
Keeps moving Improviser Good with engines
◑︎ Blade Runner Los Angeles, 2049 All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
You would survive 2049 because you know how to be small in a very loud city. You keep your head down, you do the job, and you hold onto one private thing that belongs only to you. That quiet stubbornness is exactly what both Deckard and K run on, and it is what keeps either of them going when the case stops making sense. From the Collider file
Blade Runner 2049 won Roger Deakins his first Oscar for cinematography, on his fourteenth
nomination.
The film also took Best Visual Effects, 35 years after Ridley Scott’s 1982 original.
Villeneuve shot it on large-format film and kept the fog and rain practical on set wherever
he could.
Three short films by Luke Scott and Shinichiro Watanabe bridge the 30-year gap between the
two movies.
Keeps her head down Private Noir soul
▲︎ Dune Arrakis Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
You would survive Arrakis because you think in decades while everyone around you thinks in weeks. You read the room, you learn the customs, you wait. The desert does not reward speed. It rewards people who understand that patience is a weapon, which is the one lesson the Fremen never had to be taught. From the Collider file
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune won six Academy Awards in 2022, including Cinematography and
Original Score.
Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan’s Tenet so he could score Dune instead.
Dune: Part Two arrived in 2024 and brought in Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher
Walken.
David Lynch’s 1984 version and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade one are both their
own legends by now.
Plays the long game Reads the room Patient
✦︎ Star Wars A Galaxy Far, Far Away Rebellions are built on hope.
You would survive the galaxy because you never try to survive it alone. You collect people. You end up in the middle of other folks’ problems and you stay anyway. Every version of this story, from the Falcon’s crew to the Ghost’s, runs on somebody exactly like that holding the group together. From the Collider file
The 1977 original won six Academy Awards plus a special achievement award for sound effects.
John Williams’ score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and became the
best-selling symphonic film soundtrack ever.
Andor took the galaxy somewhere colder and earned Emmy nominations for drama series in both
seasons.
The saga now runs across eleven feature films and a growing shelf of series on Disney+.
Collects people Shows up Hope merchant
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Here’s What We Know About the ‘War Machine’ Sequel
On the same day that War Machine was added to Netflix, Ritchson and director Patrick Hughes confirmed that they had an idea for a sequel. Once the movie reached the all-time Netflix top 10, the streamer had no choice but to greenlight the sequel, which can safely be considered one of the most anticipated movies in development. Hughes even shared a photo of himself working on the script a few months ago, confirming that the tentative title for the movie is War Machines. It’s taking a page out of the Ridley Scott and James Cameron school of sci-fi.
Check out War Machine on Netflix and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Alan Ritchson’s future projects.
