Two different endings were filmed to Die Hard With A Vengeance: see the much darker one they didn’t use right here.
In the latest episode of our award-losing podcast (that’s available here), we’ve taken a look at the story behind 1995’s hit sequel Die Hard With A Vengeance. The film’s got a bit of a story behind it, and also it was one that struggled to arrive at a working ending. Two different endings were shot, and there was a strong idea for a third.
Some of you may already have seen this, but what we’re showing you here is the version that was filmed yet not used.
Spoilers lie ahead, obviously.
In this version, evil Simon Gruber’s robbery plan has succeeded, and as a consequence John McClane has been fired by the New York PD. Not that McClane takes this lying down, and he tracks Gruber down to Europe. Which is where the following confrontation would have taken place…
You don’t need us to tell you that, tonally, that’s rather a different conclusion to the one we got in the final film. Reportedly it was the fact that it was quite dark and such a little bit nasty that deterred all concerned from pressing ahead with using it.
A pity. It would have taken the series in a much more interesting direction, and it feels a bit more memorable than trying to shoot down a helicopter and then trying to ring a character who wasn’t deemed worthy of screen time…
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