Before we dive into it, let’s get a few important things out of the way.
Yes, Die Hard is one of the best Christmas movies ever. Yes, it’s also one of the best action blockbusters to date. And yes, John McClane is a total badass.
As we’ve mentioned before, while Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox was undoubtedly a win for the company, it looks like some of the franchises that are now under the House of Mouse’s control have proven to be a bit problematic (we’ve heard the poor box office performance of Dark Phoenix didn’t exactly inspire confidence in future X-Men movies, for instance).
Still, Disney now has creative control over a handful of properties that have been lying dormant for some time, including Die Hard. While the first four films in the series are generally well-regarded (the original, to this day, remains popular, especially around the holiday season), 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard wasn’t as well-liked, and ever since, there’s been little in the way of a new entry.
Thankfully, then, we’re now hearing that Disney is planning to reboot the franchise entirely. As a result, McClane – a sixth film which was to serve as a prequel and origin story – has been scrapped, and instead, the team heading up this new project will be resetting the clock on the series.
Personally, we wouldn’t mind if Disney got into the world of more intense/gritty action movies, even if it means that Bruce Willis won’t be reprising one of his more iconic roles. From what we understand, this new take will still focus on a younger McClane but it’ll be an entirely new project, not related to the Fox prequel that was in development.
And before you cast doubt on this report, remember that this is the same source who’s provided several accurate scoops in the past including that Aladdin is getting a sequel and that the leads of Ghostbusters 3 would be young teens. As such, we’re inclined to believe them.
Of course, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on any additional news regarding Die Hard, and we’ll be crossing our fingers for Willis to somehow still make a cameo in the next film.