There’s a new rumor going around that a new Die Hard film is currently in the works at 20th Century Studios, CBR reported citing scooper Daniel Richtman.
Richtman stated that the new film will be a prequel, following the adventures of a young John McClane. The character was played by Bruce Willis in all five movies of the franchise.
While there hasn’t been any confirmation from the studio, it’s very plausible for the franchise to rewind the clock. It’s a current and continuing trend in Hollywood to reboot and reimagine massively popular IPs like Die Hard.
Die Hard never dies
At some point, there were actual plans to develop a Die Hard movie that was a mix of a prequel and sequel. The project, which was tentatively titled McClane, was supposed to be set in two time periods. The project was allegedly in development when it was acquired by Disney in 2019. However, the project was scrapped when Willis retired after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
If the new movie does get made, it will most likely do away with the present-day characters and will be based instead on the graphic novel Die Hard: Year One. The eight-issue limited comic book series followed the story of the John McClane as a rookie NYPD police officer.
In 2017, Len Wiseman who directed the 2007 sequel Live Free or Die Hard was set to make the Year One adaptation. However, the project still didn’t push through the following when Willis allegedly refused to endorse the writers and unnamed star. The movie was placed in the back burner in 2019 when the script was revised by the production team.
Finally in 2021, the planned film was taken off the Fox imprint after it was acquired by Disney. Now with these new rumors swirling, the prequel may end up getting made… not as a movie, but as a Disney+ series.
There are currently five Die Hard films: the original released in 1988, 1990’s Die Hard 2, 1995’s Die Hard with a Vengeance, 2007’s Live Free or Die Hard, and the latest and the last with Willis as McClane, 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard.
The franchise’s fans will no doubt be waiting for its newest iteration, even if its status as a holiday movie is forever in question.