Without Remorse (John Clark, #1; Jack Ryan Universe, #1)

by Tom Clancy

WITHOUT REMORSE

Whenever Hollywood adapts a novel for film or television, there is always the debate about how faithful the adaptation should be to the specifics of the book, and to what extent the adaptation should take the character and spirit that makes the piece special and build something new that speaks to modern audiences. In the case of Without Remorse, the decision was made long before I was involved to update John Kelly’s journey for the era in which the film was being produced. However, as I’ve always loved the book and the character, I and other people involved with making the film did our best to preserve what readers love about Kelly and his journey. While I’m sure many readers would have loved a 70s-era version of the story, I also feel that updating the story for 2021 will help a broader audience connect with this iconic and beloved character. As for my process on this film, anytime I come onboard a project, I first look for ways to deeply understand the character and the themes of the story, because everything flows from that. Many of the film/tv projects I’ve worked on are based on books, but unlike my other book adaptations (e.g. Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff) this is the first time I’ve adapted a book where I was unable to speak with the author and “look under the hood of the car”. Therefore, I had to rely heavily on my own interpretation of Tom Clancy’s text to decide how to approach the material. To give readers a little insight into my process, I’ve noted a number of passages that helped guide me while I worked on the film. However, as I am only one of the writers who worked on this film, I am merely sharing the passages I found most informative as I was trying to help bring the character to life in a way fans would enjoy. I invite you to share your own interpretations of the passages and what makes this character so compelling to you.