It has just been announced that John Moore (MAX PAYNE, BEHIND ENEMY LINES) has been hired to direct the fifth installment in the DIE HARD franchise. I suppose there is decent enough action in a few of Moore’s films but I am NOT convinced he will be a better fit than Len Wiseman (UNDERWORLD, UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION) who directed the amazingly awesome LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD.

Apparently it is said that Bruce Willis (DIE HARD, RED) was impressed with Moore’s desire to shoot a lot of the action without the use if heavy CGI. The creators will likely say this is because they want the film to be more grounded like the original, but I think it is a clever way to cut the budget in half. Like I said, I absolutely loved LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD in all its CGI glory and consider it one of my favorite action movies of all time. So while I am open to less CGI, I will miss the intense action sequences that are only possible with its use.

No official plot details or casting news has come up yet even thought this sequel is planned to shoot in Russia sometime soon before Willis begins production on a sequel to RED.

DIE HARD 5 (tentative title) will be released sometime in 2012.