WhenTaylor Kitsch stepped into play Ben Edwards in the 2022 series "The Terminal List," the minor character from author Jack Carr's 2018 best-selling novel got a major upgrade. With "The Friday Night Lights"star, 44, in the role, Edwards, a former Navy SEAL, was reimagined to be the trusted brother to Chris Pratt's James Reece in the hit action series and now the principal character for the growing universe's first spinoff,the Prime Video prequel series "Dark Wolf"(first three episodes now streaming, then weekly on Wednesdays). During a joint interview with Kitsch, Pratt explains the surprising rise of Edwards with a spontaneous pharmaceutical riff that even startles his "Dark Wolf" costar. "You know that Viagra was originally a heart medication," says Pratt as Kitsch laughs. "They gave it to people for heart or blood pressure (issues) and then they were like, 'Whoa! We got something way better and more valuable than heart medication. All of these people have boners. "Filmmaking is the same way," Pratt continues. "When Taylor comes in to play Ben Edwards, it's not going to be this character with a little twist. It's like, we need to market this. And he needs his own (expletive) show." "That was (expletive) brilliant," Kitsch says. The heart-condition description is doubly effective, ever since Edwards broke the tickers of ardent devotees of the series. Kitsch infused Edwards with the vibe of a wisecracking San Diego surfer who loyally assists Reece. Fans rooted for the reunited comrades as they hunted down and killed the shadowy people on a secret list behind the lethal ambush of Reece's SEAL platoon, and then murdered his wife and daughter. The buddy story ended in agony when it was revealed that Edwards was on the list and complicit in the ambush plot. Reece executed Edwards on his sailboat in the stunning series finale, a betrayal and death given far bigger significance in the TV series than the novel. "It's the biggest scene in 'Terminal List.' That brotherhood had been the glue," says Kitsch. "That was one of the last scenes we shot together. We knew the stakes." The death would seemingly mark Kitsch's exit from "The Terminal List" franchise, as the character is only in flashbacks in Carr's six other novels. However, Pratt concocted a "Dark Wolf" prequel plan that reunites Pratt as Reece and Kitsch as Edwards before their mutual tragedies. "Spoiler alert: it didn't end well for Ben Edwards in 'Terminal List'" says Pratt. "But everyone loved Taylor so much, we thought 'What if we used some creativity?'" "Dark Wolf" finds Edwards and Reece in Mosul, Iraq, seven years before the deadly events and Edwards' betrayal. (Episode 1 also brings back Boozer (Jared Shaw), who also died in "Terminal List.") The series' kicks into high gear when Edwards is unceremoniously ousted by the SEALs after a botched raid. The defining event, mentioned in "Terminal List," looms large in Edwards' motivations for that ultimate betrayal. Edwards, along with protesting comrade Tom Hopper (Raife Hastings) and crass CIA contractor Jules Landry (Luke Hemsworth) join a secret CIA unit fighting terrorism in Europe. The series transitions from desert battles to a metropolitan spy thriller – while introducing characters like Landry and Hopper, who are featured throughout Carr's books (and likely future TV series). As the story follows Edwards' escapades in Frankfurt, Geneva, Vienna, Budapest and Munich, Kitsch gives Pratt a partial breather. "'Dark Wolf' becomes a global espionage spycraft series set around the world, and I'm a father of four," says Pratt of his home family life with wife Katherine Schwarzenegger. "I can't do that." Pratt is already shooting the "Terminal List" follow-up "True Believer," which continues Reece's story. But there's room in the growing Carr TV universe for more "Dark Wolf." "It's seven years from Mosul, Iraq, to the events of 'Terminal List' so I think certainly one, if not two more seasons" is possible, Pratt says. "This is the beginning of Ben Edwards' descent. There's going to be a moment when this character goes truly 'Breaking Bad' dark. We haven't even written that or anything. But we'll figure it out. And I can't wait." After all, Kitsch brings to the character, and the series, leading-man Viagra. "I know you'll bring your heart to and it'll be honest and true," Pratt tells Kitsch. "I think you and Ben Edwards' souls are intertwined, in a way." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Taylor Kitsch is 'Terminal List' Viagra powering 'Dark Wolf': Pratt
