Probably the only guy to have worse luck than John McClane is Jack Bauer. But while Bauer’s bad luck will end in May, John McClane’s may not be over yet.
This should please the die hard fans of the Die Hard series very much. What won’t please them is that screenwriter Skip Woods is negotiating with Fox to take a stab at the new script.
Woods has been sketchy as a screenwriter, having penned Swordfish, Hitman and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (Perhaps he needs to include a Post-It note with the words “Don’t screw this up” near his computer monitor as he types.)
But what sort of pickle can John McClane possibly get into next? He’s already killed Huey Lewis and terrorists that have feet smaller than his sister’s at Fox Tower, made mincemeat of John Amos on the wing of an airliner, played cat and mouse with Scar from The Lion King, and showed that Timothy Olyphant wasn’t “justified” in his actions.
Eh, who cares. It’s John McClane – a loose cannon that every red-blooded American should rally behind. He was Jack Bauer before Jack Bauer was Jack Bauer. If he can thwart terrorists while still hungover and survive the effects of a stale Twinkie, he can do anything.
Three years ago, Live Free or Die Hard, written by Mark Bomback and directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld), rocketed to the tune of $383 million worldwide, the most profitable entry in the franchise.
As to when the movie can roll into production, Bruce Willis has several projects on his docket already. This year he has a cameo in Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables and Summit Entertainment’s Red. Later this summer he starts production on the Lionsgate video game adaptation Kane & Lynch.
Once that’s done he’ll be back to his wisecracking ways, with or without expletives.
Sound Off: Does the world really need another Die Hard movie, or is this a franchise that you would like to continue?
