lesserjoke:

DIE HARD was an adaptation of the novel Nothing Lasts Forever, the sequel to another book called The Detective. That one had already been made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra, and when he declined to return for the sequel, the plot was initially reworked to become a sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie COMMANDO instead. Only when he too passed on the project did it get rewritten again into its final form.

DIE HARDER was an adaptation of the novel 58 Minutes, which is by a different author and is entirely unrelated to Nothing Lasts Forever. Characters and plot details were reworked in adaptation so that the movie could function as a DIE HARD sequel.

DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE began life as an original script called Simon Says. It went through several iterations, including one where it was a LETHAL WEAPON sequel, before eventually being reworked to be the third DIE HARD.

(There had earlier been a script specifically written to be the third DIE HARD movie, but Bruce Willis rejected it as too similar to the first movies. That one was later reworked to become SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL.)

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD began as an original script called WW3.com. It too was purchased and rewritten to be a DIE HARD film.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, the latest movie in the series, was actually written specifically as a sequel. However, its original title was Die Hard 24/7, and it was intended as a crossover with the recently-ended television show 24. When that plan fell apart, the Jack Bauer character was rewritten to be John McClane’s adult son.

Anyway, the moral of the story is to never let yourself get discouraged! Despite unlikely beginnings and early setbacks, you too could someday be rewritten to be a DIE HARD film.