Die Hard: Year One (Bruce Willis)

Twentieth Century Fox is in negotiations with Len Wiseman to direct and produce the sixth installment in its durable 27-year-old “Die Hard” franchise.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is also producing. Bruce Willis is expected to return for “Die Hard 6” in a story that would focus on the origins of the younger John McClane character, set in New York City in 1979. The plan is for Willis to appear in the narrative as a present-day version of McClane.

The actor has not signed a deal yet. Willis previously worked with di Bonaventura in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation.”

The film has not been officially titled but it’s unlikely to be called “Die Hard 6.” Fox has dispensed with numbers in the titles in the last three films.

Wiseman directed the fourth installment of the franchise in 2007 with “Live Free or Die Hard,” which grossed $383 million worldwide. The fifth film, 2013’s “A Good Day to Die Hard,” was directed by John Moore and grossed $304 million worldwide.

The original “Die Hard” opened in 1988 with John McTiernan directing, followed by “Die Hard 2” with Renny Harlin in 1990. McTiernan directed “Die Hard with a Vengeance” in 1995.

Wiseman also directed the first two “Underworld” movies and 2012’s “Total Recall.”

Di Bonaventura is best known for producing the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises.

WyldeMan wrote:When they failed to launch the next Die Hard series with Jai Courtney as John's son they've run out of all other ideas so they've now decided to go the prequel route? Wow. I like Len though and this certainly means that Kate Beckinsale will have a role.

Tyger wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:When they failed to launch the next Die Hard series with Jai Courtney as John's son they've run out of all other ideas so they've now decided to go the prequel route? Wow. I like Len though and this certainly means that Kate Beckinsale will have a role.

She wasn't in Live Free or Die Hard. I'm surprised Len would want to work with Willis again.

Opinions have not been in short supply since filmmaker Len Wiseman‘s announcement of a Die Hard movie prequel called Year One. Early reports on the plot, which would go back and forth in time, drove some fans into such a frenzy that one guy actually took out an ad in The Hollywood Reporter detailing what he felt would be a better script. Then Bruce Willis stepped in, and commented on the project himself, lending it and Wiseman his full support.

During an interview Christina Radish had with Wiseman about his upcoming TV project Lucifer on Fox (we will have that full interview up soon), the director gave a few more details on the project, including the shooting schedule as well as a clearer picture of what Willis’ involvement will look like.

Wiseman is describing Year One as a “prequel / sequel,” saying that after Live Free or Die Hard, he and Willis talked about John McClane’s origins, and how they could explore more about what made him the man he is, saying

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“After doing the fourth one, there were so many conversations that Bruce [Willis] and I were having about what he put into the character for Die Hard 1. That character comes in with so much baggage, emotionally, and experience. He’s already divorced, he’s bitter, his Captain hates him and doesn’t want him back. So, what created that guy?”

Wiseman continued,

“We’ve never seen the actual love story. We know its demise, but we’ve never seen what it was like when he met Holly, or when he was a beat cop in ‘78 in New York when there was no chance of him making detective. It’s always been something I’ve been thinking about, and now we’re doing it. And it ties in.”

Wiseman also detailed more of Bruce Willis’ involvement, assuring fans that it will be more than just a cameo used as a framework for the rest of the film:

“The reason I say prequel/sequel is because I wasn’t going to do it without Bruce. I’m also not going to do it with Bruce being a cameo bookend gimmick. It’s really working into the plot, with the ‘70s having ramifications on present-day Bruce. It inter-cuts in a very fun, imaginative way with present-day John McClane.”

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As far as when the movie might start shooting, Wiseman said his focus on Lucifer has kept Year One on a shifting timetable. However,

“The film itself will take place on New Years’ Eve 1979, so trying to gear things towards that would be fun, if we could come out around the same time, but these movies take their own paths.”

Wiseman also suggested that the production will be looking to cast an unknown actor, since McClane as a character is so inextricably linked to Bruce Willis. As far as any specifics, though, Wiseman did say,

“It has to be somebody that has the swagger and the confidence, but also the charm, the wit, the charisma and the toughness. It’s asking a lot, especially in somebody that’s younger. It has to feel like the guy owns it, rather than is trying to put it on.”

And that sound quite a bit like the search for a young Han Solo …


So what do you say, fans? Do these updates appease you, or make you want to take out an ad in a trade so you can detail your better idea for the prequel/sequel? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for more from Wiseman.