20 Things You Didn't Know About Speed
6. Other Die Hard Connections Still Lingered
While De Bont had experience with the Die Hard franchise, he wasn't their first choice. That would have been Die Hard 2: Die Harder's Renny Harlin, who passed on the project, along with John McTiernan.
There were a few other names fired around the room, but one stands out as particularly random. Quentin Tarantino had just seen indie success with his first film, Reservoir Dogs. His script for True Romance was also well-regarded, so they passed Speed his way briefly. He wisely passed, opting to work on his own next project.