The Disney/Fox deal has left plenty of questions on the table. One question that hasn't come up as often as, say, Will The X-Men Join The MCU? is What Will Happen With Die Hard 6? The movie got as far as a title, McClane, and early news that Bruce Willis would return, along with a new actor playing a younger John McClane.
The first five Die Hard movies were distributed by 20th Century Fox. Now Fox titles are owned by Disney. So when Die Hard 6 producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura was asked if they had a start date yet for McClane, he added Disney to his answer:
I wish, not yet. I don’t know what’s going to happen there. It’s really up to them because obviously now they’re owned by Disney. My sense is that we won’t know much about it for a while while they debate whatever they’re debating. I don’t know enough about their plans really to have any point of view. They like our script.
"They" like the script -- that's a good sign, even if the specifics of "they" weren't discussed in his chat with /FILM. There's been a lot of talk about the script in the past year. Bruce Willis talked about checking out the script a year ago. Shortly after that, reports came out claiming The Conjuring writers Chad and Carey Hayes were hired to write the next Die Hard script.
In September, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura told Empire the movie's title would be McClane, saying "We want you to get invested in John McClane more than ever before." At the time, he confirmed McClane would bounce back and forth between older present day McClane, played by Bruce Willis, and a younger McClane to be cast in his 20s. The film was previously being eyed as Die Hard: Year One.
In late January, Film Stories UK talked to Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and he told the site McClane was still moving forward with Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) attached to direct. But as of March 20, 21st Century Fox is part of The Walt Disney Company. There's a lot to sort through in the transition, including layoffs and release date changes.
Hope is not lost for Die Hard 6/McClane, but it just seems to be in limbo, along with many other films. It was already in limbo as the script was developed. Based on Lorenzo Di Bonaventura's latest comments, it sounds like they've landed on a script they like, it's just a matter of who is now in charge of moving the project forward and deciding what stays and what goes. As he hinted, we may not know much about it for a while as The Powers That Be sift through the many Disney/Fox projects in development.
As we wait to see whether Mickey Mouse kills off John McClane or helps get him back on screen soon, keep up with what we do know is coming to theaters this year with our 2019 movie release date schedule.
