2. The Films Can No Longer Attract A Stellar Cast
By the mid '90s, Samuel L. Jackson had already established himself as a mainstay Hollywood actor with roles in Jurassic Park and the critically acclaimed Pulp Fiction before he agreed to the role as Zeus Carver in Die Hard with a Vengeance, joining Jeremy Irons in a stellar cast line-up. Since then, the Die Hard franchise has failed to attract "big name" Hollywood actors. Die Hard 4.0 had "the guy from the Apple advert" as well as Timothy Olyphant (Hitman) but that was pretty much it. The cast for A Good Day to Die Hard was even worse, and was ultimately a perpetual list of anonymity. Jai Courtney, who played the role of John McClane Junior, had only appeared in three films prior, whilst Sebastian Koch who played the villainous Yuri Komarov has an equally unknown filmography. It is perhaps indicative of the plight of the films that the series can no longer attract a stellar cast.