Rumors Of A New Die Hard Prequel/Sequel Made It Move
Deadline- As Hans Gruber, his brother Simon and several other super villains can attest, it is hard to kill NYPD cop John McClane, despite that underwhelming last film. Fox is making a deal for Live Free Or Die Hard helmer Len Wiseman to return and develop with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura a sixth installment of Die Hard, the venerable action series that overnight transformed Bruce Willis from a TV to a movie star back in 1988. All of this is early, but they are referring to this as Die Hard Year One and I’m told that Wiseman and di Bonaventura are now looking for a screenwriter to script a reinvention of the venerable action series, one that is sort of a prequel while still leaving room for Willis to play McClane as well. Basically, he’ll bookend a story line that will be set much of the action in 1979, when McClane was a cop in gritty New York City and showing how he became a die hard kind of guy.
Yippee ki-yay motherfucker!!!!! The greatest movie of all-time will get its fifth sequel. Now have the last two Die Hard movies burned me and caused fans of the franchise not to trust Hollywood? You bet your sweet ass. But I am still going to get excited any time a new story about John McClane is up on the silver screen. Kind of like Pedro’s last few seasons with the Mets. Sure he wasn’t dialing it up to 98 MPH and striking everyone out. But you always knew there was a chance you could see greatness, and even if you didn’t, you still loved the hell out of the guy. Am I happy that the guys in charge of Die Hard 6 are responsible for the Transformers, G.I. Joe and Underworld movies? Of course not. But sometimes you go to the movies expecting the worst and maybe, just maybe, you get something decent. Hell, Pedro threw a couple of gems in September during his last season as a Philly. So maybe, just maybe things will work out.
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As for the movie, I am hoping for a ton of call backs to the original Die Hard. Maybe a quick cameo of a young Ellis blowing lines? One of the Gruber brothers plotting some shit in the background? A young Al Powell eating a Twinkie as he tours NYC with his not-yet-pregnant wife? And I neeeed to see how McClane met that young, sexy minx Holly Gennero.
Now whoever is tabbed to play a young John McClane will have the weight of the world on his shoulders. But people that can play John McClane are not built. They are born. I am putting faith in the casting process here (AKA praying to God every night before bed that they don’t fuck it up).
NOW HIT MCCLANE’S MUSIC!
(Sorry I had to include the music video with references to the 4th Die Hard, but the original video was taken down by Fox. Everyone knows to ignore the last two movies because they were varying degrees of train wrecks)
PS: I wrote a Die Hard character power rankings on my blog last year if you want to check it out.