While some may have been disappointed by the cancellation of the most recent entry, the Die Hard franchise doesn’t need another outing. Die Hard has a slightly convoluted origin story, with the film being an adaptation of author Roderick Thorp’s Nothing Lasts Forever. This revolved around a retired cop name named Joe Leland visiting his daughter at the high-rise office building she worked in during Christmas. An armed terrorist group soon seizes the building, and Joe has to fight back.

Nothing Lasts Forever was itself a sequel to the novel The Detective, which was turned into a movie starring Frank Sinatra. Due to this, Sinatra had to be offered the lead role first in Die Hard, but since the singer had retired from acting – bowing out with a cameo in Cannonball Run II – that left producers free to find a younger star. After everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Richard Gere passed, Bruce Willis was hired, with the film making him a movie star. His John McClane was a funny, relatable hero, and the film has become a classic of the genre.

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In addition to making Willis an action star, he returned to the Die Hard series several times in the years the followed. While Die Hard 2 and Die Hard With A Vengeance are both well-regarded, 2007’s Live Free Or Die Hard was considered a letdown. The most recent outing A Good Day To Die Hard was a modest hit in 2013 but received almost universally negative reviews. Common complaints included a bland story, unrealistic action and Willis’ listless, low energy performance. Sadly, this would become a trend with the star, and proves why another sequel shouldn’t happen.

For years, a prequel/sequel named McClane was planned that would cut between flashbacks to a young John to his older counterpart in the modern-day, reprised by Willis. The Fox/Disney merger saw this project get quietly canceled, which is probably for the best. It’s hard to see Willis trying (or wanting to) recapture the John McClane viewers know and love from the original Die Hard movies. The star is now content to work a few days on interchangeable STV action movies and thrillers like Hard Kill, Reprisal or Cosmic Sin.

Even in those smaller roles he often, at best, unengaged by the material, just like his turn in A Good Day To Die Hard. In contrast to a star like Tom Cruise, who works hard and tries to outdo himself on every project like the Mission: Impossible sequels, Willis seems content with his current career. If he did return for a sixth Die Hard, it’s difficult to see him committing to making it a great movie or closing out the franchise in a dignified way. Likewise, it’s doubtful anyone really wants to see another actor play John McClane either.

A straight-up remake would never recapture the magic of the original, and the odds of casting actors as perfect as Bruce Willis’ John McClane or Alan Rickman are bleak. Die Hard is the rare Hollywood series that should be left in peace. Neither a remake nor another belated sequel sounds like the right path forward, and the character of John McClane has earned a peaceful retirement.

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About The Author


Padraig Cotter
(3501 Articles Published)

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It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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