Bruce Willis to star in sixth Die Hard Film

They say that the last sequel in a franchise that ever gets made is the one that fails to make money. For proof of this look no further than the Die Hard action movie series.

While the first Die Hard is the best Christmas film ever made and Die Hard 2 and Die Hard 3 had their certain charms, the last two films in this series – Live Free Or Die Hard and A Good Day To Die Hard – were, to put it mildly, utter and complete tripe. But while they were critically mauled, they made out like gangbusters at the box office and so a sixth Die Hard film was always on the cards.

Rumours surfaced recently that the notion of a prequel movie was doing the rounds called Die Hard: Year One. However, an exclusive interview with Empire magazine has revealed that producer Lorenzo diBonaventura says the filmmakers are going to take a prequel/sequel route with the movie.

“You can tell our intention by the fact that the title page we handed in says, ‘McCLANE’”, diBonaventura told Empire. “We want you to get invested in John McClane more than ever before.”

The producer went on to say that the film’s plot will follow the challenges (and presumably gunfights that result) of the 60-year-old McClane and a younger incarnation of the character in his 20s.

“I don’t know how you do Die Hard without Bruce,” he said. “The idea that he’s not very significant in this movie is not accurate at all. We are going to explore John McClane in his twenties. But just as prominent is the 60-year-old version.”

Empire says that the screenplay was handed in back in July and Len Wiseman (who helmed the Total Recall remake) is on board to direct. Expect the hype machine to start working in the coming months…