Chris Pratt's former Navy SEAL James Reece faces off against a surprisingly formidable foe in Season 2 of Prime Video's "The Terminal List" (now streaming) – a nameless soldier played by real-life former Navy SEAL Jack Carr.
The showdown is remarkably one-sided, with Reece's helicopter crew making short work of the enemy soldier sporting "Terminal List" author Carr's instantly recognizable beard.
Carr's unnamed character emerges from a black SUV under fire and expertly shoots back at Reece's helicopter. His resistance is short-lived. The soldier gets his head blown off in a "Call of Duty"-style kill shot worthy of instant replay.
"People have been dying to see inside the mind of Jack Carr; I can't show you that," Pratt tells USA TODAY, speaking
next to the grinning Carr. "But I will show you the inside of his skull. It's so great."
After taking a shot to the chest, Carr's dying soldier lets out one last ADR-enhanced dying grunt before a spurt of special effects blood erupts where his noggin used to be.
"It is a good one. It's some of my best work, yet," Carr says, jokingly going Hollywood when thanking Pratt for the screen work that made his spectacular death possible. "You're there in the helicopter, I'm down on the ground. It's such a giving moment as an actor."
Neither participant harbor illusions that the showdown would end the same way in real life.
"In real life, perhaps things would go down a little differently. If you know what I mean," Carr says.
"Yeah, that's true," Pratt adds with a laugh.
Beyond providing the franchise's source material, Carr, who joined the Navy SEALs in 1996 and served for 20 years, is part of a team of military veterans who keep the action-drama grounded in combat realism that is the "Terminal List" calling card.
Former SEAL Jared Shaw, an executive producer who also played doomed SEAL Ernest "Boozer" Vickers (returning in flashbacks this season), oversees military accuracy alongside fellow executive producer and former Army Ranger Max Adams and former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza ("Warfare").
The on-camera work is a major bonus, with super-skilled combatants like Carr stepping in to play nameless antagonists that allow for return visits due to the scene's brevity. Carr has been killed three times in "Terminal List" franchise he spawned.
In the prequel spinoff "Terminal List: Dark Wolf," Carr's soldier got shot up just after exiting another car. "I at least got out of the vehicle before I get stitched up and down," he says.
In "Terminal List" Season 1, Carr's doomed fighter didn't even fully exit the vehicle before Reece killed him. "I don't even get out of the car," says Carr.
There's irony in Carr getting killed (twice) by the character he created, played by the actor he always envisioned in the role. Pratt's friendship with Shaw, whom he met while preparing for his role in 2012's "Zero Dark Thirty," allowed him an early look at then-unknown author Carr's debut novel. Blown away, Pratt pursued the screen rights before "The Terminal List" was published in 2018, eventually teaming with executive producer Antoine Fuqua to bring the series to TV in 2022.
It's a perfect fit, with Pratt bringing star power and convincing combat realism to his portrayal of Reece.
"This guy moves, with a weapons system or without," Carr says of Pratt. "He's an athlete and an incredible actor. He's the person I wanted to bring Reece to life. And then he exceeded all expectations, which is surreal to me."
The expanding "Terminal List" TV universe revolves around the Reece name. The former SEAL has already cheated death by surviving the seemingly inoperable brain tumors discovered in Season 1. Reece not only lives into Season 2, but holds out hope for life-saving treatment that could keep the franchise firing for many more seasons.
While a new season has not been officially greenlit, Season 2 sets the table for another potential expansion of "The Terminal List" universe through Reece's father, Tom Reece. The Navy SEAL and CIA operative's mysterious death looms large throughout the new episodes, especially the finale. Carr has explored the elder Reece's exploits in his 2025 prequel thriller, "Cry Havoc," which covers his 1968 Vietnam deployment and recruitment into CIA operations.
"Without giving too much away, I personally think that would make an amazing show," Pratt says of the potential spinoff.
It would be a challenge to find a role for Pratt in the prequel series. But Carr could be recruited He even had dialogue in "Dark Wolf" after his unnamed character expertly stole CIA employee's ID card.
"So I had a line, but it got cut for the series," Carr says. "Or maybe it was so bad, that I'll never get a line."
"I'm sure that they just didn't want to cement you in as that character," Pratt says. "They want to bring you back for the big one."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inside Chris Pratt's 'Terminal List' fight with real Navy SEAL Jack Carr
