The ‘Die Hard 6’ Title Is Now ‘McClane’
Die Hard 6, the unnecessaryDie Hardprequel/sequel, has a new name. The working title for the latestBruce Willisaction flick wasDie Hard: Year One, but you can now officially call the movieMcClane. The film will follow both the present-day John McClane in his 60s, and a younger, 20-something McClane just starting out on the force.Empirehas the news about the newDie Hard 6title. “You can tell our intention by the fact that the title page we handed in says,McClane,” says producerLorenzo diBonaventura. “We want you to get invested in John McClane more than ever before.” Rumors have circulated that the film – previously titledDie Hard: Year One– would be almost entirely a prequel, with a new, younger actor playing bad-luck cop John McClane, delegating original star Willis to an extended cameo appearance. But producer diBonaventura says that’s just not true, and that Willis and the yet-to-be-cast younger actor are going to have the same amount of screentime:
Based on the previousYear Onetitle, it’s likelyMcClanewill be drawing inspiration from the eight-issue comic book limited seriesDie Hard: Year One, written by Howard Chaykin and illustrated by Stephen Thompson. Here’s the synopsis of the comic:
Every great action hero got started somewhere. Batman Begins. Bond had his Casino Royale. And for John McClane, more than a decade before the first Die Hard movie, he’s just another rookie cop, an East Coast guy working on earning his badge in New York City during 1976s Bicentennial celebration… and the Summer of Sam. Too bad for John McClane, nothing’s ever that easy.
Chad HayesandCarey W. Hayesco-wrote the film’s script, andLen Wiseman, who directedLive Free or Die Hard, is set to helm. There’s always the chance thatMcClanewill breathe new life into the dwindlingDie Hardfranchise, especially if they find the right actor to play young McClane (is Joseph Gordon-Levitt available?). I also love the idea of McClane running around a dirty, gritty New York City while the Son of Sam is on the loose (if the film is indeed keeping that plot point).
At the same time, aDie Hardprequel goes against everything that made the originalDie Hardso special. Based on that film, the events at Nakatomi Plaza were among the first action-packed moments of cop John McClane’s life, and he was improvising as he went along. He was a fish out of water, out of his element and dealing with terrorists. To delve into his backstory seems like a mistake. Then there’s the fact that there hasn’t been a goodDie Hardsequel sinceDie Hard With aVengeancein 1995. Is there really any life left inDie Hard? I guess this film will answer that question once and for all.
