The Terminal Listauthor Jack Carr has discussed how the prequel show,The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, changes a key book character. The original show, starring Chris Pratt as a Navy SEAL caught up in a conspiracy and dropped on Prime Video on August 08, 2025. Thespinoff showThe Terminal List: Dark Wolfset to premiere on August 27.
The Terminal Listseason 2 is bound to feature book changes, and was renewed back in February 2023, but only entered production this year, withDark Wolfproviding a compelling stop-gap series that helps expand the franchise, while also focusing on the backstory of one of the novel’s (and show’s) most important and interesting characters.
In an interview withScreenRant, Carr discussed the character of Ben (Taylor Kitsch), how he is portrayed in the novel, and howThe Terminal List: Dark Wolfset about trying to evolve and change the character, and how the differences between the mediums facilitated a need for a slight tweak to the way Ben is portrayed. Check out Carr’s comments below:
ScreenRant:You mentioned that Ben in the book can be perceived as a little bit one dimensional and now we’re getting an entire seven episode arc to really flesh out who this character is and maybe even get more seasons down the line on that front. What were some elements of Ben that were important for you to preserve here in this interpretation of him and what other things did you want to maybe push the boundaries with, with the rules you set on the page?
Jack Carr:Let me go back real quick to a little defense of myself. In the book, I didn’t want to give away what was going to happen at the end. And actually my editor is one of the things that she mentioned at the beginning. She wanted me to put another clue in there because I did put at least one, maybe two, I think I gave two clues in the book.
So it wouldn’t just be like, “Oh, where did this come from?” You could get to that ending of the book and go, “Oh, I see there are these clues along the way.” But nothing that was so obvious and it wasn’t like this character was being set up to do this.
And it’s just a difference in storytelling in those mediums, visual versus on the page. So that’s a little bit of a defense there for the one personality of the book. There’s a lot of limitations in the book on that character. So it’s more preserving him as a different type of a character.
He’s so unique because where he ends up, if you’ve watched the first season, that relationship that he has with James Reece, that relationship that he has to the SEAL teams, that he came from this SEAL team background into the black side of CIA dark operations, and then now to do these things that he does in conjunction with a government private entity in The Terminal List.
But it’s keeping Ben as Ben and making him not just another SEAL. He is such a unique character, but all of that really goes back to Taylor. I mean, all of that goes back to Taylor and what he brought to it. And we were talking earlier about another actor maybe doing that role, and I don’t think we’d have a spinoff if we had another actor in that role.
He just embodies it so much and he has such a connection also to the veteran community, and it’s more specifically the SEAL community because of past roles. And so he really feels this personally as does Chris, and that filters down throughout everybody in the cast and crew."
What This Means For Ben’s The Terminal List: Dark Wolf Portrayal
As Carr alludes to, the character of Ben is a little different in the novel to how he is in the show, which makes sense, as TV shows and novels work very differently as mediums. Kitsch’s portrayal of Ben hinted at a complex and layered character, and was interesting enough with viewers to warrant a show exploring his character’s past in more detail.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolfgives Ben some much-needed backstory, and breathes a little more life into this morally gray character.The Terminal Listwas one ofPrime Video’s most underrated shows, and hopes forDark Wolfappear to be high, with Pratt hinting at moreThe Terminal Listspinoffs in the future, which may depend on the spinoff’s success.
Our Take On The Terminal List: Dark Wolf’s Ben Portrayal
Ben was a character who was underutilized in the novel, but Kitsch’s performance has resulted in the character earning a spinoff, which will reveal more about his backstory. The show will provide a strong bridge toThe Terminal Listseason 2, and there are even plot points that might be resurrected and explored across both shows.
The Terminal Listwas a captivating show with a strong moral message, andThe Terminal List: Dark Wolfis set to explore one of the most complicated characters from the show and map the journey toward his tragic end. Whether other characters fromThe Terminal Listmight receive spinoffs is unclear, but Carr is clearly happy with the direction Ben’s character has taken.
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf
Cast
The Terminal List: Dark Wolf is an espionage thriller set five years prior to The Terminal List, chronicling Ben Edwards' transition from Navy SEAL to CIA paramilitary operator.
