As you may or may not know, the fifth installment in the
"Die Hard" series is called
"A Good Day to Die Hard" (why can't they just add a numeral to the title like a normal action sequel) and will be directed by
John Moore (
"Max Payne",
"Flight of the Pheonix",
"Behind Enemy Lines").
Bruce Willis will return as
John McClane and the story this time around will take place in Moscow, where our favorite "fly in the ointment" cop will fight off some threat to democracy (you'll read about that in the press release below).
The newest addition to the cast of
"A Good Day to Die Hard" is
Jai Courtney, known for the role of Varro from the
"Spartacus: Blood and Sand" TV series. He will be playing
John McClane's estranged son Jack and together they will battle ruthless russian bad guys. There's also a rumor that
Patrick Stewart will be playing a russian general (I'm hoping for a villain), but that hasn't been confirmed yet. Here is a photo released by
20th Century Fox of Courtney's screen test with
Bruce Willis :
I haven't watched
"Spartacus", so I have no idea how good an actor
Jai Courtney is and it's clear that they're thinking of shifting the focus of the franchise towards a younger protagonist for future installments, but I think there are bigger issues to be considered when handling this sequel. For example, I hate how they keep trying to transform the
Die Hard movies into a modern franchise when focusing on its old-school charms would be far more entertaining. Some things just don't need improving. The fourth movie,
"Live Free or Die Hard", directed by
Len Wiseman (
"Underworld"), was silly overkill and while
Bruce Willis can still pull off his
John McClane act just fine, the quality of the writing, the videogame-style action sequences and the lack of a strong villain (as played by
Timothy Olyphant, an otherwise good actor) where poison for that movie. At this point there is hope for no. 5, I think, but it can still go either way. Production begins this April and the release date has been set for
February 14, 2013.
The full press release, after the jump :
Synopsis: Bruce Willis is back in action - mind-blowing, heart-stopping, rip-roaring action - as John McClane, the heroic New York cop with a knack for being in the wrong place at the right time. John's latest predicament takes him all the way to Russia to track down his estranged son, Jack (Jai Courtney), who has been imprisoned in Moscow. But the mission takes a deadly turn as father and son must join forces to thwart a nuclear weapons heist that could trigger World War III!
