FROM ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
A Good Day to Die Hard will be the fifth entry in the action franchise featuring irascible and still-not-yet-retired NYPD officer John McClane—other potential titles included Die Hard or Die Trying and You’re Going to Die Hard, Charlie Brown–but this time he’s got an unlikely partner. Sure, he had an unlikely partner in the last two Die Hard movies, but now it’s his son, okay? Spartacus‘ Jai Courtney plays John McClane, Jr. (a.k.a. Jack) alongside Bruce Willis as the McClane clan head to Russia.

“That’s the thing about the Die Hard franchise, John’s always a fish out of water,” says Courtney, who is also starring opposite Tom Cruise in this fall’s Jack Reacher. “What could be further out of water for him than Russia?” Making things even more complicated, father and son don’t necessarily get along. “The relationship isn’t always functional. These are two guys who have been estranged for some time. John likes to wing it, see what happens. Jack’s more of a strategist.”

Still, the McClanes are able to put their differences aside to fight some baddies, although what particular type of baddies is still unclear. “I can’t say much about the villains without giving it away,” Courtney says. Hmm, maybe there’s something to the fact that all previous odd-numbered Die Hards have featured a Gruber?

FROM HUFFINGTON POST
You're playing John McClane again, too, [in "A Good Day to Die Hard"]. What do you like doing more at this point?
Well, I like challenges. I like trying to do things where there is a risk of failure. There's a risk of going, "I didn't quite do what I wanted with that." Or, it didn't quite live up to what I thought I was going to get to." So I like challenges. It's me competing with myself. You know, it's a solitary game for most actors -- you really are competing with yourself. I don't feel like I'm competing with any other films out there.

Is there still a risk to doing another "Die Hard" movie?
Yeah, the risk is more ... I guess it's a personal challenge. Because there are gaps of time between each movie. It's a kind of ageist tryptic: "Oh, OK, now I'm this age," and trying to tell that action movie, "Die Hard" theme -- but I'm a little older. How fast can I run? How well can I fight? So that's a challenge and, you know, it's a fun thing to do. There's a story, if you look at all of them from the first film to the one we just did. And you see me age over these films -- that has its own interest to me.