Die Hard 6 now is McClane

SIX years after the release of Good Day to Die Hard, 20th Century Fox has announced that series entry number six will not be called Die Hard: Year One, but rather McClane.

Bruce Willis ( above) will be back as one of two actors to play McClane in this upcoming prequel.

The movie is to feature its hero not only in his 60s, but in his 20s as well. That opens the door for Willis to return, having featured in every other series entry to date.

“We want you to get invested in John McClane more than ever before,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told Empire.

“I don’t know how you do Die Hard without Bruce – the idea that he’s not very significant in this movie is not accurate at all.”

Len Wiseman is in the director’s chair, having directed fourth film Live Free or Die Hard, and then the 2012 action movie remake Total Recall.

Wiseman created the Underworld franchise, helming its first two films, and cocreated the TV adaptation of

AWashington Irving’s short story Sleepy Hollow.

The Die Hard franchise launched in 1988, making TV actor Willis – then of Moonlighting fame – a major motion picture star.

Die Hard 2 released in 1990, and Die Hard with a Vengeance arrived in 1995.

A fourth movie emerged more than 10 years later through Live Free or Die Hard, and the franchise further proved its resistance to extinction with 2013’s A Good Day to Die Hard.

That fifth film co-starred Jai Courtney as McClane’s son Jack, though it is not known if the character would feature in future movies.

Each franchise entry made at least triple its production budget at the worldwide box office.

However, A Good Day to Die Hard fared worst at review, accruing a 14% approval rating via Rotten Tomatoes, and a weighted average Metacritic score of 28, making McClane a more challenging prospect. – AFP-Relaxnews