Fans of the Die Hard franchise won’t likely see another movie anytime soon as the Fox acquisition by Disney halted plans for the Mclane prequel.
Die Hard is one of the most iconic and successful action franchises of all time. Bruce Willis has starred as hard-boiled detective John Mclane in five films over 30 years. There is still a demand from fans for Willis to reprise his role in another feature film, but producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed the next movie “isn’t happening.”
Bonaventura confirmed interview with Polygon that the next installment in the franchise, called Mclane, was scrapped. Bonaventura and Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman reportedly had an idea for the next film, featuring a young Mclane and Willis as the older version of the character.
“What was interesting about our idea was it allowed you the ability to meet the young John McClane and use Bruce. So it was really interesting in that way. So you sort of got to see both versions of him. A bit [like The Godfather Part 2].”
The project was not initially designed as a Die Hard story but eventually shifted in that direction, a common theme in the franchise. Die Hard 2 was adapted from the novel 58 minutes, and Die Hard with a Vengeance was also adapted from a separate, stand-alone project.
Unfortunately, the new movie was pushed aside when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, and Bonaventura is unsure what the plans are going forward. Of course, fans might see the return of John Mclane in some form in the future—though with Bruce Willis at 66 years old, how that might play out in a any potential future film isn’t clear.