20 Things You Didn't Know About Die Hard

By Jack Pooley / December 18, 2023

7. The Plot Was Influenced By Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Though Die Hard is officially adapted from Roderick Thorp's 1979 thriller novel Nothing Lasts Forever, the final script was actually influenced by a most unexpected source - Shakespeare.

An earlier draft of the script presented to McTiernan had the Nakatomi siege take place over three days, but the director ultimately lobbied to truncate the action down to a single night after reading The Bard's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

It's an odd touchstone, yet you can sort of see where he's coming from: the events of Die Hard taking place over one insane, violently dreamlike night is more urgent and interesting than a protracted, credibility-straining three-day standoff.