First shot of Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher surfaces

Empire has nabbed the first shot Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher from the titular film due out on December 21, 2012. Christopher McQuarrie wrote and is directing Jack Reacher, based on the novel series by Lee Child.

Jack Reacher takes place in an innocent heartland city, where five are shot dead by an expert sniper. The police quickly identify and arrest the culprit, and build a slam-dunk case. But the accused man claims he’s innocent and says “Get Jack Reacher.” Reacher (Tom Cruise) himself sees the news report and turns up in the city. The defense are immensely relived; but Reacher has come to bury the guy. Shocked at the accused’s request, Reacher sets out to confirm for himself the absolute certainty of the man’s guilt, but comes up with more than he bargained for. The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall, Jai Courtney, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, James Martin Kelly, David Oyelowo, Michael Raymond-James, Alexia Fast, Kristen Dalton, Nicole Forester, Joseph Sikora, Josh Helman, Sara Lindsey, Tammy Felice, Scott A. Martin, Christopher Stadulis, Jace Jeanes, Julia Yorks, Teri Clark, Joe Coyle, Susan Angelo and Peter Gannon.