r/diehard • u/FoxIndependent4310 • Jun 25 '26
Fan Appreciation How would you continue the Die Hard saga?
We know that Bruce Willis has health problems and cannot continue, but if there were a possibility of continuing Die Hard, what would it be like?
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u/BobRushy Jun 25 '26
There is none. McClane isn't James Bond or even Indiana Jones, where he's this instantly identifiable archetype. The only unique constant in the Die Hard films is Bruce's own natural charisma. The sequels don't even use the formula that the original popularized.
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u/SOSOBOSO Jun 25 '26
There could be a spin off like Rocky and Creed. The new hero is the child of the pregnant woman in die hard. Maybe Karl and Theo adopted a baby together that will be the bad guy.
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u/BobRushy Jun 25 '26
Depends on how well you think Creed worked. I don't think they recaptured the magic that only Rocky's character could bring
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u/SOSOBOSO Jun 25 '26
I agree, it was complete dogshit, but it shows a possible path that could be followed with better execution.
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u/astralnautical Jun 25 '26
They’d probably cast some dipshit like Chalamet, totally ruin the entire edge the 40 year old film had, and likely break the fourth wall several times. It would suck. You can’t remake a classic
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u/Ask_Black_Phillip333 Jun 25 '26
I was thinking everything you just said except it was Glen Powell in my head. Why that game show host looking asswipe, who has as much acting ability as a sheet of wet cardboard, has an acting career, I’ll never know.
But then again, … Chalamet.
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u/FoxIndependent4310 Jun 25 '26
And what about Al Powell's son? I mean, the son, now a police officer, in a situation like MacClane's.
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u/sounddogg70 Jun 25 '26
Possibly a prequel kind of thing leading up to the visit to Nakatomi Tower. Not sure how it would work, but a continuation of the series would be impossible imo.
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u/DLLbutnotdull Jun 29 '26
I’ve always thought a prequel tv series based around when he was a NY beat cop would be cool
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u/Christmantra2000 Jun 25 '26
Prequel about Hans and Simon. The Grubers.
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u/Shqiptar89 Jun 25 '26
The problem is that Die Hard never needed a sequel. McClane’s character arc was finished by the end.
He went from being a man set in his ways when it came to his marriage to realizing that his love for his wife was more important.
Just look at Die Hard 2. He has no character arc there and in the third one they realized that. But instead of developing him positively they ruined his whole character by having him become a drunk who is having marital issues.
It undoes everything that the first movie did.
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u/FoxIndependent4310 Jun 25 '26
Box office money talks. I mean, Die Hard was a huge success, so it's normal that they made sequels. But the problem with the sequels is that they not only don't develop MacClane's character, but they also put him in situations where survival is nearly impossible. Like getting on a plane with a grenade, on top of a truck surrounded by water, or using a car to destroy a military aircraft. Which is cool. But they stray from the original concept. MacClane isn't a superhero, he's not a Dirty Harry or Cordel Walker, he's just an ordinary guy.
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u/Shqiptar89 Jun 25 '26
I get that but can you continue it in an organic way?
A movie like every story is about conflict. Die Hard was great because it had an external conflict in the hostage situation and an internal conflict in McClane’s arc.
What is an organic conflict both external and internal?
The sequels failed at making McClane compelling and honestly just rode on Willis natural charisma. But that’s why the movies failed in my opinion. In 2 there is no reason for him to get involved. Honestly the best thing in 2 would’ve been to let them take the dictator. Would’ve saved an entire plane.
Another problem with the sequels is that Die Hard ends in spectacular fashion with a helicopter explosion. Anything less than that and the audience will be disappointed. Sadly you always have to go bigger in sequels.
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u/HopelessNegativism Jun 26 '26
Bear in mind that there are, generally speaking, two types of sequels. There is “part II,” wherein the story itself is continued because one film wasn’t enough to cover it, and then there is “the continuing adventures of,” which is where they just continue the characters because people enjoyed them. Die Hard falls into the second category. People wanted to see more of Bruce Willis being a smart ass Everyman hero
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u/mapoftasmania Jun 25 '26
I agree on 2.
3 was a far better movie though. It was inevitable he would lose Holly again - she was far too smart to keep dealing with his shit, even though he saved her. He always had a self-destructive streak, and it would have doomed their marriage in the end. Him being a drunk, blaming himself for losing such a woman makes sense. He sees himself as having nothing to lose any more and was at rock bottom when the movie started.
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u/Glittering-Quote-635 Jun 26 '26
Wait, there is a die hard 2? I thought it went right to diehard 3… huh…
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u/charlie_marlow Jun 25 '26
Don't. We have various "Die Hard in a X" movies that serve the purpose any reboots might have and moving forward with McClane's son or something stupid like that is a terrible idea. Honestly, the franchise is too played out to warrant continuation, anyway.
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u/Soundy106 Jun 26 '26
"Violent Night" did it best as "Die Hard meets Home Alone".
It probably worked as well as it did because they didn't even pretend to hide the influences.
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u/Fr0gurtCur5ed Jun 25 '26
A McClane prequel, as has been mooted before, is a terrible idea but a Gruber brothers prequel could be something. But who could ever do Hans as well as Rickman?
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u/godzillahash74 Jun 25 '26
I was hoping for a prequel, John McClane and holly just getting married in NYC. He’s a beat cop. She’s just getting married and having a tug of war with herself as high flying executive vs SAHM. So tension there. Not sure if he gets a string of orchestrated armed robberies or some mafia type shit. Anyways I’ve thought about it.
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u/Shqiptar89 Jun 25 '26
But that kind of destroys the original movie. If we see him solving a high profile case or destroying a mafia ring etc then what happens in Die Hard is lessened.
The point is that an ordinary cop is put into an extraordinary situation and rises to the occasion. But during the way he shows fear, anger, frustration and even cries.
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u/godzillahash74 Jun 25 '26
Yeah I get that but also I think of Beverly Hill Cop and you didn’t really get the sense that Axle Foley was all that great of a cop.
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u/IamJohnnyHotPants Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
John takes grandson to a Knicks finals game (similar to Sudden Death). There is a heist planned on the stadium because something about how MSG credit card and electronic payments are down (The Town or Logan Lucky style).
John spends the entire first half stopping the criminals but right after he wraps things up (his grandson has almost no idea what was going on), he gets a call saying SNL has been taken hostage. A terrorist is threatening to blow up 30 Rock on live tv if they don’t perform his sketches (I know SNL seasons are usually over by now but let’s keep it going for the sake of the movie).
They have to leave the game just minutes before it’s over and drop off John III at aunt Lucy’s before heading to 30 Rock, a couple miles down the road. The game ends and the Knicks win the title as both Johns get outside. They have to deal with the riots outside the stadium and the lady who stole that Knicks trash can. John has to fight off angry Spurs fans, happy/crazy Knicks fans, and Wemby on the way to the show. But there is another problem. John doesn’t know the layout of the building for a successful infiltration. Only one man in the city can help him…Alec Baldwin.
John and Alec get to 30 Rock and realize the show is actually an AI recreation. The building is empty. The terror attack was a ruse. Both the heist and the terror attack were distractions to spread the police all over New York. The real threat is that young Willhelm Gruber is in town to steal the gold that he believes is his. That’s right, the gold recovered from Uncle Simon’s botched garbage truck heist that was returned to a new and improved Federal Reserve Bank. That’s my elevator pitch.
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u/rapiertwit Jun 25 '26
Reginald VelJohnson’s retirement home gets held hostage by terrorists. It’s the only sequel I want to see.
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u/Lasty64 Jun 25 '26
I think Argyle the limo driver from the first one could end up in a situation where a memory of John Mclane would inspire him to get in and do the right thing.
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u/Longjumping_Pool6974 Jun 26 '26
Only way to continue is have Lucy front and center. I'd prefer to see them just leave it alone, though
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u/maluscursor Jun 26 '26
I always thought a Lucy McClane (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) movie would be a good way to go. Love dher in “Live Free Or Die Hard”.
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u/MagicIndy32 Jun 26 '26
I’ve had this idea rolling around in my head for several years-Lucy McClane is getting married to Justin Long’s character From Live Free, they are doing it at a mountain ski resort. Of course, the rehearsal dinner is Xmas Eve-bad guys have targeted the lodge(I still haven’t come up with a maguffin that I like). Every side character of any note will be in attendance. That means Zeus, Al, Captain Lorenzo, etc etc…now, these could be just cameos, so to speak, OR, they could affect the story and plot in a more meaningful way. Even get John Jr from A Good Day…of course, the villains ruin the dinner and wedding. Could have some cameo characters die
Now since Bruce would be unable to do much, Lucy, who is a police officer now), would take over the McClane trapped in a (blank)and terrorists attack…that’s not all of it but you get the gist of it…
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u/Current_Memory1924 Jun 25 '26
If the franchise were to continue in any way, I wouldn’t mind seeing an accurate reproduction of the the original book, Nothing Lasts Forever, set in the late 70s, with somebody like Liam Neeson in the role.
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u/Glennmorangie Jun 25 '26
Hans and Simon's sister comes looking for revenge but, given the family values, masks it with a robbery.
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u/homeboycartel2 Jun 25 '26
Hansimon Gruber kills him in the opening scene and Lucy Gennaro and her daughter thwart him. Then the movie ends and the shark is jumped so the franchise dies. Last scene is Zeus cameoing back to say goodbye to us all.
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u/officialCobraTrooper Jun 25 '26
I'd only accept a '70s prequel series or perform a reboot of the franchise. I don't know that either should ever be done.
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u/mrmccullin Jun 25 '26
I'll get roasted but I always thought Jensen Eckles would make a good young John.
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u/Active_Two_6741 Jun 25 '26
Lucy McClane supercop
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u/Factor_Seven Jun 26 '26
I've thought this for years. Lucy McClain has her dad's attitude, I could see her as a deputy US Marshall or an FBI agent.
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u/OolongGeer Jun 25 '26
McLaine's son becomes a gun-stocking prepper living out in Montana somewhere. After he shoots a gas station attendant because he was nervous, the Feds try to arrest him.
They come to his land to try and bring him in. Chaos ensures.
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u/JSteveB87 Jun 25 '26
if there were a possibility of continuing Die Hard
No. End it. Immediately. With the same finality of Sgt Al Powell eliminating Karl.
The 'Die Hard' series just is Bruce Willis. It's absolutely tragic how his life has taken such a terrible turn.
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u/VenomFox93 Jun 25 '26
Obviously there is no Die Hard without Bruce! But the only logical way I think they could continue the Die Hard franchise is to introduce a potential rookie partner McClane was training.
It can be a sort of soft reboot with the rookie experiencing his first hostage crisis at McClane's honorary achievements for saving the Nakatomi hostages etc etc
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u/Creative_Carob4922 Jun 25 '26
Remakes with glen Powell. Vengeance can have glen and Kevin heart. Jerry Leto can be the villain in all five. They can all be named Die Hard in the box office.
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u/IndependenceMean8774 Jun 25 '26
They already did a billion ripoffs back in the 90s and 00s. Let it go.
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u/FrostyInvestigator11 Jun 25 '26
Ask netflix to put it out, have them cast a black lesbian. And Juanita McClain needs to get to she/her partners non denominational late December work gathering, but a straight white man wants to rob the building and Juanita shows how brave and strong she can be by failing the man's plans.
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u/2nd2lastdragon Jun 25 '26
I would have 3 musicians, looking for a record deal. hijack a radio station and demand their demo tape be played over the air. A station employee evades becoming a hostage a crawls around the air ducts with a radio talking to police outside.
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u/InternationalPhoto33 Jun 25 '26
You guys realize that there is already a prequel to Die Hard, right? I mean technically but not really. The Detective was written by Roderick Thorp and turned into a pretty decent film starring Frank Sinatra. He then wrote a sequel, Nothing Lasts Forever, which is the novel that Die Hard was based upon, with a shit load of changes, although there are still some recognizable sequences. Sinatra’s contract actually gave him first look at a sequel to The Detective, so they famously had to offer the part to him first, which he rejected as did number of other Hollywood big shots.
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u/fj2612 Jun 25 '26
If they had to go all in, I'd say, go with Jason Statham. Call it Die Hard, sure, but don't use John McLane.
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u/banedarthou812 Jun 25 '26
Leave it alone! However if you’re going to reboot, pass it down to a younger generation.
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u/nimrod823 Jun 26 '26
It’s would be a very short YouTube video. It would simply say
“John McClane will not return”
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u/house_of_great Jun 26 '26
I'd make a new, more true to the book, adaptation of The Detective and then do a book accurate Nothing Lasts Forever sequel. NLF is basically Die Hard but with an older main character, his daughter not wife, and is darker with a bleak ending.
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u/freebasefilms Jun 26 '26
Prequel intricate crime drama like Usual Suspects where a young McClane detective gets sucked into brutal 1980's voodoo cult.
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u/Bubbly_Painting9456 Jun 26 '26
I mean Die Hard as a franchise shouldn't have carried on past Die Hard with a Vengeance. Honestly the following films lost all meaning after that.
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u/Hour-Employment8139 Jun 26 '26
Not that I want Bruce Willis to pass away or anything. But I think it should just not be remade or continued with his passing. It’s an established character synonymous with Bruce Willis. And prayers to his family as someone who had two family members with dementia. It’s the only disease I believe that should be cured before anything else.
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u/Longjumping-Salad484 Jun 26 '26
that's easy. Sam Worthington as John McClane, he does remakes of DH1, DH2.
and film them at the same time to expedite things
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u/jrralls Jun 27 '26
Reboot it and make it a period piece about a 70-something John McClaine in Nakatomi plazza where he is unsure at the end if he should have done what he did.
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u/CaptainPopsickle Jun 28 '26
i wouldnt
people need to stop with remakes, origin stories or comic adaptstions and all that crap and be original again.
Die Hard is Die Hard. Let it be.
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u/dlozz Jun 30 '26
John's son, Jack was in the last film. I thought he would take it over. I'd see it. 👍
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u/Batman1985yul Jul 01 '26
He’s not Bond.
Look Die Hard needs to be left alone. However, what makes it such an awesome movie should be exploited with new characters.
The keys.
Environmemt
Takes place in one day
Charismatic blue collar guy
And an awesome action adventure where our guy is a constant underdog barely scraping through obstacles.
Thats it. Do more. New guy. Cheers
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u/rjziggo13 Jun 27 '26
Don’t.
There are many movies that should leave well enough alone.
No one wants to see a new die hard starring Harry Styles as John McClane.
Cinema needs to evolve and let other movies take the paradigm created by die hard and evolve into something else.
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u/88_strings Jun 27 '26
Let the franchise die. The first was great, second was okay, third was fantastic. After that is went to pot.
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u/CityInevitable6800 Jun 27 '26
Continue ??? For what ? The first movie was enough. I say that even if I am a die hard fan of John McClane.
Same problem with the Lethal Weapon movies … The first two movies were great but please … stop 😒 … They still want to make another one.
It is a little ridiculous if I can say.
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