The simple fact of the matter is that as long as Bruce Willis is making movies, there will be a Die Hard franchise. And when he’s gone, the franchise will likely get rebooted. For now he’s still around, and while nobody was asking for a Die Hard 6 we are definitely getting one. The long-in-the-works prequel/sequel Die Hard: Year One is still searching for its young John McClane, but at least the film now has an official title.
According to producer Lorenzo diBonaventura in an interview with Empire, the film’s title is simply McClane.
“You can tell our intention by the fact that the title page we handed in says, McClane. We want you to get invested in John McClane more than ever before. I don’t know how you do Die Hard without Bruce – the idea that he’s not very significant in this movie is not accurate at all. We are gonna explore John McClane in his twenties. But just as prominent is the 60-year-old version.”
While the early rumors suggested the film would be a total prequel, based on the eight-issue comic series Die Hard: Year One, did anybody really think Bruce Willis wouldn’t be involved? Of course not. In fact, it’s him along with director Len Wiseman who are deciding on the actor to play young McClane. Willis will feature in the contemporary portion of the story, although the extent of his role is unclear. I’m guessing they won’t cast anybody who will outshine Willis, so my hope they’ll pull a Looper and just hire Joseph Gordon-Levitt is probably for nothing.
