'Die Hard 6' Is Happening and Will Reportedly Be a Prequel Somehow Starring Bruce Willis

Current reports say the sequel will be largely set in 1979, when John McClane was a cop in New York City and shortly before he learned how hard to die.

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Complex Original

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If you've ever seen even one American action film in your entire life, then you've indirectly been introduced to the undeniable influence of director John McTiernan's 1988 genre-reinventing classicDie Hard. In the nearly three decades since Bruce Willis became a household name, you've probably noticed a seemingly endless stream of Die Hard sequels often falling quite short of the original's brazen personality. In this spirit, news of yet another Die Hard isn't so much surprising as it is cause for extremely cautious enthusiasm.

FOX is reportedly building a deal surrounding a sixth entry in the franchise with Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, according to Deadline. The project is currently being referred to as Die Hard Year One and is set to serve as a "sort of" prequel while still allowing for Willis to play John McClane, meaning we'll likely have two actors portraying the same character:

Basically, he’ll bookend a story line that will be set much of the action in 1979, when McClane was a cop in gritty New York City and showing how he became a die hard kind of guy.

Though Willis reportedly doesn't have a deal just yet, he's being kept in the loop "every step of the way." As noted by others, Willis has endured the whole "younger actor playing the same character" ordeal before in Rian Johnson's 2012 thriller Looper alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt. No younger McClanes have been attached to Die Hard 6 (Die Hard Year One?) just yet, so maybe someone should just give one or both of these guys a call:

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