Movie fans were left stunned after realising a legendary singer was meant to star in Die Hard. Bruce Willis was eventually cast in the lead role of John McClane, the iconic action hero who hunts down a team of terrorists in Nakatomi Plaza. But Willis, who went on to star in four sequels to the classic John McTiernan-directed film, was not first choice for the role. Stars like Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone passed on the opportunity to play McClane.
James Caan of The Godfather and Thief fame, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Clint Eastwood, also turned down the role. None of these stars were the first choice for the studio, who had a contractual obligation with a legendary singer. The contract, which was put in place in 1968, meant 20th Century Fox were obligated to offer the role to legendary singer Frank Sinatra. Best known for his covers of My Way and Fly Me to the Moon, Sinatra had starred in the Die Hard prequel, The Detective. As part of his contract at the time, Sinatra was to be offered a sequel project should it come to light.
But a sequel was not written until years after The Detective had released, meaning Sinatra was 70 by the time Die Hard entered production. Honouring their contract, 20th Century Fox still offered Sinatra the role as John McClanem, but he declined. Fans have since had their minds blown by what could have been, and say a Sinatra-starring Die Hard would be "amazing".
One user took to Twitter/X and wrote: "Omg that would have been amazing. Massive shootout denouement as Sinatra blows away goons left right and centre to the crescendoing finale of My Way. I mean can you not HEAR the final 'MYYYYY WAYYYYY' playing your head over Alan Rickman's final slow motion plummet?".
