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Die Hard: Year One

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Die Hard: Year One
Publication information
PublisherBoom! Studios
ScheduleMonthly
FormatLimited series
Genre
Publication dateSeptember 30, 2009 – April 12, 2010
No. of issues8
Main character(s)John McClane
Creative team
Written byHoward Chaykin
Artist(s)Stephen Thompson

Die Hard: Year One is an eight-issue comic book limited series which serves as a prequel to the film Die Hard and was published by Boom! Studios and written by Howard Chaykin.[1] There were 8 comic issues produced in the series between September 2009 and April 2010. Its story is set in 1976 and follows John McClane as a rookie cop in the NYPD.[2][3][4]

A film adaptation has been in development hell since 2017.

Description

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Every great action hero got started somewhere. Batman Begins. Bond had his Casino Royale. And for John McClane, twelve years before the first Die Hard movie, he's just another rookie cop, an East Coast guy working on earning his badge in New York City during 1976's Bicentennial celebration... and the Summer of Sam. Too bad for John McClane, nothing's ever that easy.[5]

Reception

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Die Hard: Year One received mixed reviews from critics scoring an average rating of 6.1 for the entire series based on 11 critic reviews aggregated by Comic Book Roundup.[6]

Cancelled film adaptation

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In September 2017, Len Wiseman stated that he was casting for a young version of John McClane for an origin film called John McClane, adapting the events of Die Hard: Year One.[7]

In March 2018, writing duo Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes were enlisted by 20th Century Fox to re-write the screenplay after Bruce Willis refused to endorse the previous edition and its actor.[8][9] In July, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura submitted an updated treatment titled McClane, further confirming that the storyline features elements of McClane's and Holly's characters in the 1970s, intermixed with their present-day counterparts.[10][11] The following month, Wiseman said that pre-production on the new film should start "...fairly soon, no dates" once the script has been completed.[12] Tobey Maguire joined the production team late Summer.[13] By December, di Bonaventura handed in yet another draft, this time without input from Willis.[14] Production designer Carol Uraneck, who was hired that September, later left the project by the close of the year.[15]

In February 2019, the production team made a revision to the writing, insinuating that the project, though supposedly moving forward, was on the studio's backburner, as evidenced by executives not even having read the script yet.[16] Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead said that she was interested in returning as Lucy Gennero-McClane in a future installment, but later intimated doubt that, due to scheduling,[17] if the film would ever get made.[18][19]

Die Hard was removed from the Fox imprint through at least its 2021 slate, after Disney's acquisition and senior management shake-up, which saw the dismissal of its theatrical distribution executive, Chris Aronson.[20][21][22] The production was later cancelled outright in August 2019 after further consideration by Disney.[23] In lieu of the reorganization of both companies, the media giant is said to be rebooting development of McClane for streaming as a television series.[24]

In March 2022 Bruce Willis was retiring from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia,[25] ending all production on any form of the prequel/sequel McClane with his involvement.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marshall, Rick (June 29, 2009). "EXCLUSIVE: Die Hard: Year One Writer Talks Prequel Plot, Reveals New Jock & Dave Johnson Covers!". MTV.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  2. ^ "Movies – News – 'Die Hard' comic prequel planned". Digital Spy. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-30.
  3. ^ "Die Hard: Year One Revealed John McClane's Secret Origin". 22 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Die Hard Prequel Reveals Secret Meaning Behind "Yippee-Ki-Yay" Scene". Screen Rant. 6 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Die Hard Gets A Prequel With Die Hard: Year One". Icon vs. Icon. May 28, 2009. Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  6. ^ "Die Hard: Year One Comic Series Reviews". Comic Book Roundup. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  7. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 17, 2017). "'Underworld': Len Wiseman Spearheading TV Series Adaptation Of Movie Franchise". Deadline. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  8. ^ Sneider, Jeff (March 12, 2018). "New Die Hard Movie Enlists The Conjuring Screenwriters". The Tracking Board. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  9. ^ Scott, Ryan (August 3, 2018). "Bruce Willis Will Help Cast Young John McClane in Die Hard 6". MovieWeb.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  10. ^ Travis, Ben (September 3, 2018). "New Die Hard 6's Title Is McClane - Exclusive". Empire Magazine. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Romano, Nick (September 3, 2018). "New Die Hard movie officially titled McClane". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  12. ^ Topel, Fred (2018-08-03). "The 'Die Hard: Year One' Script Features a Young Holly Gennero, Bruce Willis Will Help Cast the Young John McClane [Exclusive]". /Film. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-08.
  13. ^ David, Mark (September 24, 2018). "Tobey Maguire Lists Bare Land in Brentwood". Variety. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  14. ^ Wakeman, Gregory (December 12, 2018). "McClane producer on the 'tricky' balance of making a Die Hard prequel/sequel". metro. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  15. ^ Marc, Christopher (September 22, 2018). "LEN WISEMAN'S 'DIE HARD' PREQUEL/SEQUEL 'MCCLANE' SEEMINGLY MOVING FORWARD AS ART DIRECTORS FROM 'CAPTAIN MARVEL' AND 'VENOM' ARE HIRED". Geeks WorldWide. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  16. ^ Brew, Simon (January 31, 2019). "Exclusive: a new script for Die Hard 6 has gone in this week". Film Stories UK. Archived from the original on February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Fleming, Mike (December 18, 2018). "Bruce Willis Signs Three-Picture Deal With MoviePass Films". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  18. ^ "One Key Die Hard Character Wants To Come Back For The Next Movie". 8 March 2016. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  19. ^ Davis, Erik (February 26, 2016). "Mary Elizabeth Winstead Wants Her Own 'Die Hard' Movie". Fandango. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  20. ^ Brew, Simon (February 2, 2017). "How A Good Day To Die Hard Left the Franchise in Limbo". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
  21. ^ "Disney wins: Comcast drops its bid for 21st Century Fox". CNN Money. July 19, 2018. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  22. ^ Sakoui, Anousha (March 21, 2019). "Disney Begins Fox Layoffs With Cuts Focusing on Film Studio". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  23. ^ Lloyd, Brian (August 11, 2019). "Disney has reportedly thrown the 'Die Hard' prequel off a building roof". Entertainment.ie. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  24. ^ Donnelly, Matt (August 6, 2019). "Disney Flushes Fox Film Development, 'Redirects' Strategy After Big Q3 Loss". Variety. Archived from the original on August 10, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  25. ^ Sharf, Zack (2022-03-30). "Bruce Willis Stepping Away From Acting Following Aphasia Diagnosis". Variety. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
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