10 More Sequels That Totally Ruined The Previous Movie's Ending
5. John McClane Didn't Save His Marriage - Live Free Or Die Hard
Whilst most people will remember Die Hard with a Vengeance - the third movie in the series - for the incredible banter between Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, the ending to the movie is pretty good too.
John McClane (Willis) is persuaded by Zeus Carver (Jackson) to place a call to his wife Holly, whom he hasn't spoken to in a year. The McClanes' personal drama had been a core part of the series, essentially the inciting incident for the first film, so audiences were happy to see that things were heading in the right direction.
And then the franchise vanished for 12 years. Maybe it went out to the coast, had a few laughs...
It eventually returned with 2007's Live Free or Die Hard - alternatively known as Die Hard 4.0 everywhere outside of North America. Had John and Holly managed to patch things up in that time? Nope. In fact, the only reference to Holly is through a shot of her driving license on the McClanes' divorce certificate. Oh dear.
John is the sort of character that works best overcoming the odds, but to throw away such a key part of his backstory like this undermined the rosier note the original trilogy ended on.