The boss of 20th Century Studios has revealed what is going on with the iconic action movie franchise, Die Hard. Speaking with THR about all manner of upcoming projects, Asbell offered a brief, but no less teasing, update on Die Hard 6. Following the retirement of franchise lead and beloved actor Bruce Willis, fans have been happy to let the series lie dormant. But, according to Asbell, that won’t always be the case. Asked if there are currently any Die Hard plans, Asbell replied…
While incredibly brief, the addition of “not yet” strongly suggests that, eventually, the studio does plan to return to the explosive world of John McClane. Sadly, Die Hard lead Bruce Willis is now out of action after being diagnosed with aphasia and later with frontotemporal dementia. The Hollywood icon, of course, played the beloved John McClane throughout the Die Hard series, with his last appearance being in 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard. The original plan for Die Hard 6, which had been in development since 2017, would have seen Willis retire the character, acting as both prequel and sequel and following Willis’ McClane as a case from his past that comes back to haunt him. Taking inspiration from the “Die Hard: Year One” comic book miniseries, director Len Wiseman revealed at the time that he was looking to cast another actor as the younger McClane.
Die Hard 6 Would Have Been Both a Prequel and a Sequel
However, despite all manner of rumors and casting speculation, it was confirmed by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura back in 2021 that the prequel/sequel has been shelved.
“Yeah, no, It’s not happening. But what was really interesting was we actually came up with an idea to do it. It was a project that wasn’t Die Hard that then, eventually, shifted over to Die Hard.”
“What was interesting about our idea was it allowed you the ability to meet the young John McClane and use Bruce. So it was really interesting in that way. So you sort of got to see both versions of him. A bit [like The Godfather Part 2].”
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Should the studio ever want to revisit the Die Hard franchise (because, come on, they surely will eventually), perhaps a change of main character that pays tribute to the previous movies could be the way to go. Black Adam and Cross star Aldis Hodge, who starred in the third outing Die Hard with a Vengeance, said earlier this year that he would love to reunite with co-star Samuel L. Jackson in a follow-up.
“You know what? My brother and I and our team, we were actually talking about ‘what would’ve happened if’ a little while back. So we might have to revisit that conversation because I think that would be awesome to see. Absolutely.
Sam is the coolest. Yeah, he’s cool, man. I mean, I first met him when I was eight, but man, we still cool now. You know what I mean? And it’s just great. I think he’s got a lot to teach for sure with the magnitude of his career. But to work with Sam again would be amazing.”