Tom Cruise knows when he has a recipe for success. The first time he worked with director Ed Zwick was on the sword action film 'The Last Samurai. ' The film was a huge hit that got nominated for several awards and has made about $456 million in the worldwide box office.

Now that the actor is getting ready to work on the sequel of 'Jack Reacher,' he's looking to an old friend to help him out. Deadline has just reported that Zwick is in negotiations to direct the movie, which is tentatively titled 'Never Go Back.' The director and 'Last Samurai' producer Marshall Herskovitz are also being courted to rewrite screenplay.

Regular Cruise collaborator Chris McQuarrie was originally signed to direct the sequel, but had decided to step away from the project. McQuarrie had written the script for the first film.

The character Jack Reacher is the main protagonist in Lee Child's novels. The first film was an adaptation of the 2005 book 'One Shot' while 'Never Go Back' will be based on the novel of the same name.

The book 'Never Go Back' is the eighteenth Jack Reacher novel which was published in 2013.

Zwick's directorial debut was the 1986 romantic comedy 'About Last Night...' He also directed successful films like 'Glory,' 'Legends of the Fall,' 'Courage Under Fire' and 'Blood Diamond.' Zwick's most recent hit was the 2010 drama 'Love and Other Drugs' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.

Cruise has starred in over 70 films, most of which were box office hits. His first film role was in the 1981 movie 'Endless Love.' He recently co-starred with Emily Blunt on the action film 'Edge of Tomorrow.'

Cruise will reprise his role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in 'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation,' which is scheduled for release on July 31, 2015.