The Hollywood Reporter’s giving a run down of all the actors currently screen-testing to play Bruce Willis’ son in the new Die Hard, currently saddled with the awful title A Good Day to Die Hard (when did Roman numerals go out of style?). We’ve already covered some of the dudes in contention, but there’s a name on the list I haven’t seen before, and one that worries me a little: Liam Hemsworth.
I don’t have anything against Hemsworth per se, but the sheer fact that he’s even mentioned tells me he’s probably going to get the part (or is at least the frontrunner right now). Of course the fan vote is going to lie with Aaron Paul (also rumored to be in contention), and anyone who’s seen the last two seasons of Breaking Bad knows that he can bring the intensity a part like this calls for. But Hemsworth feels like the safe choice for a studio that doesn’t take many chances (aside from First Class and Apes). His older brother Chris is already a name actor and, after his supporting turn in The Hunger Games hits in March, Liam’s going to be the next hot young property shoved down our throats (see Pettyfer, Alex).
But it gets worse, what if what FOX is really casting for is a new torchbearer for the Die Hard name? By reintroducing the son into the fold, they might be angling toward a future where an Old John McLane is no longer the face of the franchise.
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