It’s been so long since we last heard news of a Die Hard prequel that most people have forgotten it was ever on 20th Century Fox’s radar, let alone a film in active development. But news finally came in today from Shock Till You Drop’s latest interview with “Hannibal” star Mads Mikkelsen, who says he’s currently in talks to play Hans Gruber, the villain originally played by Alan Rickman in the first Die Hard, in a movie set a few years before the events of the original film.
“I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say,” Mads Mikkelsen says when pressed for information about future projects like The Hunt 2. “But I am in talks to star in that Die Hard prequel as Hans Gruber. The plot is about me and my brother Simon committing the heist of a lifetime, stealing nuclear launch codes right out from under the French president’s nose, but we turn on each other because Simon wants to give them to the German government and I want to sell them to the highest bidder. It all comes down to a showdown between me, Simon and and American mercenary named Mr. Falcon in the Black Forest while we’re all riding ATV’s and shooting at each other.”
Mads Mikkelsen goes on to say that the role of Simon, previously played by Jeremy Irons in Die Hard with a Vengeance, has not yet been cast, but will probably go to Thomas Kretschmann, who is currently set to play Baron Strucker in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron, or pop sensation Robin Thicke, an unlikely choice who apparently really wowed the producers at a screen test.
“Robin Thicke is a dead ringer for Jeremy Irons if you put him in a time machine. If it’s between him and Thomas Kretschmann, I think it’s going to be a margin call,” Mikkelsen added.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
