How Die Hard 6 Can Honor The Franchise Legacy Without Bruce Willis

The main reason the Die Hard franchise is such an iconic piece of action cinema is because of Bruce Willis' John McClane, and even though it's risky, there's a way that Die Hard 6 could happen without its biggest star. The infinitely quotable everyman cop John McClane first appeared onscreen in 1988 with the release of the first Die Hard. Full of witty one-liners, adrenaline-fueled '80s action sequences, and a deliciously villainous turn for Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber, the movie was an instant classic, earning over $128 million at the worldwide box office against a $28 million budget.

Its success invariably led to more sequels, with Die Hard 2 releasing only two years later in 1990. Die Hard with a Vengeance followed and became the highest-grossing movie of 1995, earning over $366 million, while 2007's Live Free or Die Hard became earned the most of any movie in the franchise, raking in over $388 million. A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) was the fifth movie in the Die Hard franchise, and it's by far considered the worst, sitting at a paltry 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. This led many to question if Die Hard 6 would ever happen.

Why Bruce Willis Isn't Returning To Die Hard

He Retired From Acting Due To Health Reason

Bruce Willis isn’t returning for a potential Die Hard 6 film because he has retired from acting. In 2022, Willis’ family announced the actor had been diagnosed with aphasia, and that he would be retiring from acting. Aphasia is a brain impairment that damages the area of the brain responsible for speech and language comprehension. At the time of his retirement in 2022, Willis had completed 11 films waiting to be released.

In 2023, Willis’ family announced that his condition had worsened and that he was now suffering from Frontotemporal dementia. The condition makes language comprehension more difficult and alters a person’s personality (via NBC News).

Willis' health issues had been rumored before the actor officially retired. At the start of the 2020s, Willis acted in many low-budget independent films, several from the production company, Emmet/Furla Oasis. He notably starred in Out of Death, where crew members were concerned about Willis’ memory problems as he often had to be fed his lines through an earpiece. Willis appeared confused on set; he allegedly didn’t know what he was doing on set. (Via Los Angeles Times).

Most of these Willis films were released direct-to-video and critically panned. In 2021, the people behind the Golden Raspberry Awards introduced a “Worst Bruce Willis Performance” category in "honor" of the actor's performances in eight released that year. However, in 2022, the Razzie Awards officially retracted the Bruce Willis award, as they felt it was inappropriate to give such an "award" to someone whose performance was affected by a medical condition.

How Die Hard 6/McClane Will Work Without Him

First off, Die Hard 6 is likely not happening, based on industry updates. However, a hypothetical sixth movie could still work without Willis’ John McClane. Willis had expressed interest in retiring the character in the sixth film (via Thainidan News). But the character cannot be properly retired if a sixth Die Hard film doesn't happen.

A major update regarding Die Hard 6's status came back in 2018. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the man behind G.I. Joe and the Transformers series, submitted a treatment for Die Hard 6 titled McClane, which used The Godfather Part II as a template. Like the iconic Godfather sequel, McClane would focus on the younger versions of John McClane and his wife Holly, intermixed with their present-day counterparts.

However, the production was put on hiatus after the Disney/Fox merger in 2019, and in 2021, it was officially confirmed that Die Hard 6 was "not happening" because the attached director, Len Wiseman, who helmed Live Free or Die Hard, was pulled away to direct From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, which is releasing in spring 2025.

This is unfortunate, as McClane could undoubtedly work if it adheres to the Godfather II formula. However, Willis would likely still have to be in the film in some way, even if he's only featured in flashbacks or flashforwards. The filmmakers could even re-use footage of Willis from the other five Die Hard films to make sure McClane's presence — and Willis' legacy — is felt throughout.

How The New Die Hard Can Honor Bruce Willis (& Still Carry On Without Him)

Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus Could Be The New Face Of The Die Hard Franchise

Prequel or not, McClane won't be the same as the other Die Hard films without legendary actor Bruce Willis. Even if his character is not seen in the present or killed off, no one else can play John McClane like Willis, as it's the character that has defined his career. He's even the only actor featured in all five of the Die Hard films, so his presence will surely be missed if he's not in the sixth film. Die Hard 6 could only really work if it doesn't feature Willis' present-day McClane at all.

One way to do this would be to scrap the McClane angle altogether and have another character from the Die Hard universe be the face of the franchise. The obvious candidate would be Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus Carver, who served as John McClane's reluctant partner in Die Hard with a Vengeance. Jackson knows how to center a franchise, as seen in his work as Nick Fury in the MCU, so Die Hard would be in good hands. Jackson and Willis have also collaborated on five movies together, so the Zeus star would know exactly how to honor Willis' legacy while keeping the Die Hard franchise fresh.