Earlier this month, 20th Century Fox set the release date for the next installment of the Die Hard franchise for 2013, with Bruce Willis reprising his iconic role of John McClane. The new flick is being directed by John Moore after Noam Murro left the picture to helm the 300 sequel, ‘Battle Of Artemisia’. Moore’s films include ‘Behind Enemy Lines’, ‘The Omen’ and ‘Max Payne’, and while he hasn’t had any blockbusters, this could be his big break.
Bruce Willis had numerous meetings with the film-maker and was eventually swayed by Moore’s love for the John McClane character, and his appreciation of using less CGI action in favour of practical effects. While ‘Live Free’ raked in $383 million worldwide, most fans saw the antics as a departure from the themes of the series, featuring less believable and over the top escapades.
The new film is set to take place in Russia, which will be a massive logistical undertaking and the studios are keen to bring the film in on time and on budget. While the last flick introduced audiences to McClane’s daughter, this time Willis embarks on a journey to save his son, John McClane Jr. Casting agents are abuzz looking for a talented young actor – the shortlist expected to test for the part are Ben Foster (The Mechanic), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine), Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), and Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes). Paul Walker‘s name has also been thrown into the mix.
At this stage little is known about the part, but if John McClane Jr is teaming up with his Pa, it’s a safe bet that he’s just as wise cracking and keen to take on the bad guys – perhaps a throwback to John McClane Snr who thwarted the attempt on the Nakatomi Plaza. The next phase of casting will be finding the bad guy, which is probably the most important ingredient – though it’s hard to imagine anyone coming close to the memorable performance by Alan Rickman in his star making role as Hans Gruber.
The script is by Skip Woods (Hitman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) so it’s anybody’s guess how the story will fare. The original Die Hard was based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, which provided some solid source material for which to base an adaptation. With the new story set in another country, particularly Russia, it does seems a bit of a stretch. The Die Hard theme puts an ordinary cop in an extraordinary situation, with only his wits to rely on in order to save the day, more or less. John McClane however remains an enduring character, and while it will be a tall order to capture the charm of the original, it should be fun to see this good cop have another very bad day… Yippie-ki-yay!
Production is set to begin January 2012 on what is reportedly titled A Good Day To Die Hard
The film is scheduled to open February 14, 2013.
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