# Tom Clancy movie continuity question
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-clancy-movie-continuity-question/181711
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [June 14, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-clancy-movie-continuity-question/181711 "2003-06-14T00:49:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2003, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-clancy-movie-continuity-question/181711/1 "2003-06-14T00:49:10Z")
Ok, the books were written in the following order:
The Hunt for Red October (1984)
Patriot Games (1987)
Clear and Present Danger (1989)
The Sum of All Fears (1991)
while the movies were released in the following order
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Patriot Games (1992)
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Now the books have a great deal of continuity and for the most part the movies did as well. With the exception of Sum of all Fears:
-By SoAF Jack Ryan should be Director of Intelligence just as he was in CaPD. But it looks like he’s back to being “just an analyst” like Alec Baldwin’s Ryan in HfRO. Afflect is also obviously younger than Ford’s Ryan.
-In every Jack Ryan movie, he reports to Greer (James Earl Jones) until his death in C&Pd. Now he reports to some other guy played by Freman.
-I get the impression Aflects Ryan is new to the CIA, however it is after the Soviet breakup which means it must be after HfRO.
so…is there a logical answer to when SoAF takes place in the series or should I just imagine Jack Ryan as a James Bond character who has served his country for 30+ years without aging?
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### Author:  [@Avalonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avalonian)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-clancy-movie-continuity-question/181711/2 "2003-06-14T00:57:11Z")
As I understood it, from the commentary track of the _Sum of All Fears_ DVD, the specific decision was made for the movie to make Ryan younger and “more green,” to make it more interesting. I’m also guessing that Harrison Ford either wasn’t available or wouldn’t do it, but I’ve never heard that confirmed.
Basically, the Jack Ryan in the movie of _Sum of All Fears_ is not the same as the one in the book, or the other movies. He’s a “new” Jack Ryan. Or, as Clancy himself said, “I wrote the book they ignored.”
That said, I thought _Sum of All Fears_ had a lot going for it, even if it wasn’t terribly faithful to Clancy’s book.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-clancy-movie-continuity-question/181711/3 "2003-06-14T00:57:53Z")
In chronological order (storywise, that is) the books are:
Patriot Games
Hunt for Red October
Clear and Present Danger
Sum of All Fears
Part of the problem lies with Harrison Ford: he was 20 (±) years too old to play Jack Ryan when he signed on for the middle two films, a fact that Clancy bitched about constantly. By the time SoaF comes about, Ryan should be breaking 40, 45 at the oldest.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [June 14, 2003, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-clancy-movie-continuity-question/181711/4 "2003-06-14T04:55:37Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by JohnT \*
> Part of the problem lies with Harrison Ford: he was 20 (±) years too old to play Jack Ryan when he signed on for the middle two films, a fact that Clancy bitched about constantly. By the time SoaF comes about, Ryan should be breaking 40, 45 at the oldest. \*\*
He seems like he would be about the right age to play Ryan in Debt of Honor/ Executive Orders. Pretty sure that those books won’t ever be turned into movies though.
Anyhow, I thought SoaF the movie was missing something. It just didn’t grab me like Red October or the Ford movies.