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Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)is a great movie and arguably the best masterpiece sequel ever. It is the third film in the popularDie Hardfranchise, in which Bruce Willis collaborated with John McTiernan, the first film’s director.
The movie became the top-grossing film in 1995 and is currently recognized as the franchise’s finest sequel. This success is followed byLive Free or Die Hard(2007) andA Good Day to Die Hard(2013). But do you knowDie Hard with a Vengeancewas originally written as another famous movie? It might be shocking to hear, but it is what it is.
Also read:“If you don’t respond, that’s fine”: Quentin Tarantino Risked Losing Bruce Willis in His $213M Movie After Die Hard Star Set His Demand Against Rookie Director
Die Hard Vengeancewas AlmostLethal Weapon 4
Die Hard With a Vengeance, the third installment of theDie Hardseries was initially scripted as the fourth entry in theLethal Weaponseries (starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as LAPD detectives). Jonathan Hensleigh, known for writingJumanjiandArmageddon, had authored a script called ‘Simon Says,’ originally intended as a project featuring Brandon Lee.
Even at that point, Hensleigh’s script closely resembled what eventually becameDie Hard With A Vengeance. The script “Simon Says” featured an unlikely duo working together to stop bomb threats across the city. But after Lee’s unfortunate death in 1993 onThe Crowset, Warner Bros. bought the script and modernized it into theLethal Weaponseries.
When Mel Gibson became disinterested in quickly returning to theLethal Weaponfranchise, Warner Bros. decided to sell the script to Fox. There, the script caught the attention of Bruce Willis, who greenlighted the script. Later, Hensleigh was hired to turn the script into the thirdDie Hardfilm, andSamuel L. Jacksonwas cast in the partner role alongsideBruce Willis‘s character, McClane.
Also read:“I still get the chills”: Samuel L. Jackson’s Pulp Fiction Co-Star Worked With a Real Pimp That Forced Martin Scorsese to Change His $28M Classic Script
Samuel L. Jackson’s Zeus Carver was Initially a Woman
In Jonathan Hensleigh’s original Simon Says script, the hero who was ultimately transformed into John McClane – a young NYPD cop named Alex Bradshaw. Meanwhile, he partnered with a black man named Zeus Carver, who was actually a woman in his script. This was the first thing to change when Simon Says was rewritten asLethal Weapon 4.
Hensleigh also revealed that Fox executives were initially against the idea of Zeus being a black character. They even requested him to modify the character as white or Asian. Despite this, a significant portion of the Simon Says script reportedly remained unchanged inDie Hard with a Vengeance, with the major addition to the plot being the inclusion of the film’s gold heist storyline.
Well, the changes weren’t that minor in the script because, in the DVD commentary, Hensleigh says that the first hour of the film is his (word for word) original Simon Says script, with only the character names being changed. But in this case, the whole character has been transformed.
Also read:Sandra Bullock’s $164M Disaster Forced Bruce Willis’ ‘Die Hard 3’ to Copy Mel Gibson’s ‘Lethal Weapon 4’
Source:Legends Revealed
Shreya Jha
Articles Published :1042
Meet Shreya, FandomWire’s go-to Pop-Culture Writer. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a pop culture obsession that rivals even the most die-hard ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel fans.Her articles have been published in Animated Times, Creator Mail, and The Luxxe Mag. When Shreya’s not busy dishing out hot takes, she is lost in the world of rom-coms.
