Next Die Hard Film will be Prequel Called McClane, Two Different Actors to Play Bruce Willis' Character

Six years after the release of A 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 will be one of two actors to play John McClane in upcoming Die Hard prequel, McClane. 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 the fourth film, Live Free or Die Hard, as well as the action movie remake Total Recall. Wiseman created the 'Underworld' franchise, helming its first two films, and co-created the TV adaptation of Washington Irving's short story Sleepy Hollow.

The 'Die Hard' franchise launched in 1988, making TV actor Bruce 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 ten 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 in reviews, accruing a 14% approval rating via Rotten Tomatoes and a weighted average Metacritic score of 28, making "McClane" a more challenging prospect.

In recent years, both 'Star Wars' and the 'Indiana Jones' franchises have grappled with re-launches and cast roster shake-ups.

The original Star Wars actors made way for a younger cohort over the course of The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017,) with computer-generated composites used as stand-ins at certain points; Star Wars icon Harrison Ford is to return for 2021's proposed Indiana Jones 5, which has distanced itself from a potential succession plan, outlined in 2008's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an enormous commercial success despite a divided audience and reviewer reactions.