Die Hard 6 Reportedly In The Works As An Origin Story

[Mitch Henessey]

As Hans Gruber, his brother Simon and several other supervillains 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 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 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.

While di Bonaventura is Paramount-based, he’s involved here because Fox sought to convert one of his projects into a Die Hard movie (same as was done with 1995’s Die Hard: With A Vengeance, which came from a spec script titled Simon Says). Wiseman came up with a new angle that he pitched to di Bonaventura, who’s staying involved here and will produce with the director. Di Bonaventura is certainly adept at tent poles and he also has a strong relationship with Willis, who doesn’t have a deal but has been kept in the loop every step of the way.

The idea of Willis working with a younger actor playing the same character is not unprecedented as Joseph Gordon-Levitt played the young version of him in Rian Johnson’s Looper. Wiseman did a good job giving the Die Hard franchise a second wind in 2007’s Live Free Or Die Hard, which grossed $383 million with a $134 million domestic gross. The most recent installment, the John Moore-directed A Good Day To Die Hard, though not a crowd pleaser, did gross just north of $300 million in 2013, showing the viability of the franchise. I’m told a lot of screenwriters covet this movie, because let’s face it, McClane is one of the great action movie characters of the past 40 years. Wiseman’s repped by CAA.

http://deadline.com/2015/10/die-har...ibonaventura-bruce-willis-prequel-1201582142/

The news for an origin story is strange, because from what I remember, Die Hard 6 was supposed to be set in Tokyo to continue the present storyline(s), but for whatever reasons those plans were scrapped.

On one hand, if they decide to stick with the origin story plans, it'll be a change of pace from the usual Hollywood action blockbuster formula, and maybe we're past the point of needing to shake things up for the Die Hard series. But they're taking a risky chance of tampering with a formula that audiences are used to, so the "how it all began" approach could backfire.

I don't have a strong preference one way or the other, but if I had to choose, Chris Pine is my pick to play a young John McClane. I just hope they're not considering Jai Courtney, a top pick for one of Hollywood's dull action drones.

 

[Attila the Fun]

I can't say I am a big fan of this. What made the original Die Hard movies great, especially the first, is that he was just a normal cop caught in extreme situations and managed to come out on top. Giving him an origin story sort of takes away from that.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I can't say I am a big fan of this. What made the original Die Hard movies great, especially the first, is that he was just a normal cop caught in extreme situations and managed to come out on top. Giving him an origin story sort of takes away from that.

No movie will ever take away from the greatness that is the original Die Hard. I see where you're coming from, but this is the kind of overanalyzing wrestling fans seem to do to wrestling.

I see this very differently than I see something along the lines of, say, Predator. Predator was a character that's greatest asset was maybe it's mystique. The sequels seemed to ruin that. I will still always love the character, but I can see validity in that argument.

John McLane has no mystique to be lost in a prequel. He's always just an ordinary guy caught in extraordinary situations. Lately they've been way too over the top situations.

The way the franchise has gone though, I don't expect much from this movie. They've slowly gotten worse and worse, with the lone exception being Die Hard With A Vengeance.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

The way the franchise has gone though, I don't expect much from this movie. They've slowly gotten worse and worse, with the lone exception being Die Hard With A Vengeance.

Die Hard 2 was a noticeable step down from the original and it's kind of dull in certain parts, but overall I think it's a solid action film. And it took a while, but I eventually changed my mind on Live Free to the point, where I think it's okay . Yeah, With A Vengeance was the last quality or good Die Hard film, and A Good Day To Die Hard is easily the low point in the series.

On a related note, Willis' career could use a spark, and another Die Hard film might be the answer, because he's slowly straying into a Nicolas Cage slump (i.e. using his name value for starring roles and parts in random and awful films). Over the past two or three years, he's been in one terrible film after another (I can't finish Vice. I've tried, but I can't), and his name is attached to a few big box office flops, including Rock The Kasbah.

 

[J.J.]

I wish they'd take the Rocky route here and do a spinoff to the series. I watched the last two but personally got enough after the 4th installment(I&III were my favorites).