Willis set to adopt his 'Die Hard' son
Candidates include Ben Foster, Paul Dano, and Paul Walker
By JUSTIN KROLL
Foster
Dano
Paul
Ventimiglia
After securing a director and locking down a Valentine's Day 2013 release date, Fox is now ready to line up its young thesp to star alongside Bruce Willis in "A Good Day to Die Hard" -- and whoever wins the job could be setting up to carry the lucrative franchise forward.
In the next week, Willis will begin reading with actors for the role of John McClane's son, including Ben Foster, Paul Dano, Aaron Paul and Milo Ventimiglia. Fox is also showing strong interest in Paul Walker, but he's not expected to test.
The studio had no comment on the casting process.
Fox and Willis have been trying to get the latest "Die Hard," directed by John Moore from a script by Skip Woods, off the ground for some time. After a handful of rewrites and the loss of its original director, Noam Murro, over scheduling conflicts, Fox and producer Alex Young seem to have the wheels in motion to get the film into production sometime in 2012.
Plot details are being kept under wraps -- except for that it will be set in Russia, with McClane and son fighting some sort of threat.
As the pic began clearing obstacles, the role of McClane's son has been on the minds of most of the young actors in Hollywood, as insiders say it could open the door to inherit the "Die Hard" franchise -- much like Jeremy Renner could wind up the face of Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible" series, or Shia LaBeouf in "Indiana Jones."
Given how much control Willis has over the property, the coming chem tests will be critical in determining who'll get the gig. Dano and Foster have worked with Willis in the past, but as of right now no actor is said to have an inside track.
Contact Justin Kroll at
justin.kroll@variety.com