You read that right. Let’s go to the 1970s and to John McClane’s beginning! For those following any Die Hard related news (even after two less than stellar sequels: Live Free or Die Hard and A Good Day to Die Hard), you’ll likely know that it was previously announced that filmmakers were looking to bring back Samuel L. Jackson back into the mold (from his Die Hard with a Vengeance role – Zeus Carver). It seems like McClane and Carver’s reunion could still take place, but in a smaller capacity as not only will this proposed film be a prequel but also a sequel. An origin tale that will likely circle back to the present – McClane sans hair.
Deadline reported that the proposed story this time will focus on McClane as he works as a NYPD officer in the 1970s. If this story is to be followed, it will likely focus on a 2010 comic book series (from Boom! Studios) titled Die Hard: Year One that began with his time as an officer in the Big Apple during the 1976 bicentennial and later the New York blackout in 1977.
What may dismay fans (rhyme unintended) is that Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) is looking to return to the director’s chair. In fact, Wiseman is the one that pitched this ‘new angle’ to the Die Hard universe. Wiseman may be better known for his Underworld films (one of my guilty pleasures) and for putting sci-fans through the remake of Total Recall in 2012. Despite his track record, I believe this to be a really good idea. We never really got an origin story for McClane and bringing Bruce Willis back to help tell this tale would be pretty creative. It seems every time Willis decides to play with the idea of his younger self, the movie ends up being successful – Looper, 12 Monkeys, The Kid.
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