Warning: Major spoilers for Carry-On below!The streaming success ofCarry-Onmakes a sequel a genuine possibility - but it needs to dodge a mistake that derailed theDie Hardfranchise.Carry-OncastTaron Egerton as a TSA agent forced to rise to the occasion when Jason Bateman’s mercenary tries to sneak something very dangerous past airport security.Carry-Onleans into itsDie Hardcomparisonsinstead of avoiding them; both feature everyman heroes trying to protect a loved one inside of a contained setting, while an intellectual villain constantly tries to outsmart them.
Carry-Onstands at 85% onRotten Tomatoesand has been a streaming success hit for Netflix. Egerton sounds like he would be up forCarry-On 2(viaToday) - but cautioned it would need a great hook to get him interested “It’s kind of like an extraordinary set of circumstances, so I think it would need a really innovative, creative idea to feel like a worthy idea for a sequel.” Of course,Die Hardmanaged to spawn four sequels, whereBruce Willis' John McClane always found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, so it wouldn’t be hard to makeCarry-On 2happen.
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Carry-On 2 Can’t Turn Taron Egerton’s Ethan Into An Invincible Supercop
John McClane was practically a Terminator by the end of the Die Hard franchise
Carry-On’sendingsees Ethan fulfill his dream of becoming a cop, which opens up all kinds of possibilities for a sequel. He could easily find himself amid anotherDie Hard-esque scenario - be it on a plane, a train or possibly a hot air balloon. One element that makesCarry-Onwork is Egerton’s winning performance, with Ethan - who is expecting a baby with girlfriend Nora (Sofia Carson) and trying to earn a promotion - feeling like a true everyman. This meansCarry-On 2can’t repeatDie Hard’smistake of making Ethan unstoppable.
Die Hard lost sight of why audiences loved McClane, as he evolved into a standard blockbuster action hero…
The originalDie Hardfelt innovative as it arrived during a time when Arnie and Stallone were the dominant stars in action cinema. Instead of being an invincible, muscle-bound killing machine, McClane was just a regular guy trapped in a horrible situation. It was an underdog action movie, and that’s a formulaCarry-Onsticks with.With theDie Hardsequels, McClane’s feats became increasingly outlandish, including jumping on the wing of a malfunctioning fighter jet in the fourth entry.
The series lost sight of why audiences loved McClane as he evolved into a standard blockbuster action hero. IfCarry-On 2happens, it can’t go down that road.The sequel’s setpieces will likely get bigger, but Ethan still needs to feel like a normal dude, and that the threats he faces don’t stray too far outside the realm of possibility. When he gets punched, it needs to hurt; if he gets shot in the arm, he shouldn’t shrug it off, as McClane began to do in later sequels.
The Die Hard Franchise Was Ruined By John McClane’s Increasing Invulnerability
The McClane in Die Hard 5 just isn’t the same character
The appeal of sequels for actors is that they get to explore different sides of a character over time, just as Sylvester Stallone did withRocky. The best franchises find creative ways to keep their protagonists feeling fresh, but the character of McClane moved further and further away from the original intention with each installment.Die Hard 2andDie Hard with a Vengeancekept his scrappy, sardonic persona intact, but he could also withstand greater punishment.
Sure, he bled a lot, but he could still perform superhuman feats, including jumping onto a moving airplane from a helicopter, or outdriving a tidal wave in a dump truck.Live Free or Die HardandA Good Day to Die Hardsaw Willis remove much of the cocky warmth of the old McClane, in favor of a more generic and sullen action character.By the final sequels, McClane barely even bled anymore, despite being thrown through windowsor involved in multiple crashes.
Actors who turned down the John McClane role inDie Hardinclude Frank Sinatra, Richard Gere, Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood.
The McClane seen in later films barely resembled the character introduced inDie Hard. The increase in action and spectacle came at the cost of character, withWillis' wisecracking cop eventually becoming the kind of invincible 80s action hero he was created as an antidote to. Again, this is somethingCarry-On 2needs to avoid.
Carry-On Can Become The Modern-Day Die Hard Franchise
Has Fallen didn’t quite reach Die Hard’s heights
Carry-Onis a solid thriller elevated by some great central performances. The film doesn’t really need a sequel as the story feels complete - but Ethan’s adventures could continue with the right approach. With theDie Hardfranchise having come to a close following 2013’sA Good Day to Die Hard, there is a gap in the market for a similar series. TheHas Fallenmovies made a stab at taking that crown, but they never fully reached their potential.
94%
69%
60%
Live Free or Die Hard(2007)
82%
A Good Day to Die Hard(2013)
15%
Carry-On 2could drop Ethan into any number of locales, though given his and his girlfriend’s connection to the TSA, an airbourne scenario feels like the natural stepfor a sequel. ACarry-Onfranchise really has the chance to pick up whereDie Hardleft off - while avoiding the errors that eventually brought the latter down.
Carry-On
Cast
Carry On is a film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, focusing on a young TSA agent who is coerced by a mysterious traveler into allowing a dangerous package onto a Christmas Eve flight. As events unfold, he must use his wits to resolve the perilous situation.
Die Hard
The Die Hard franchise, which began as a series of books in the 1960s, is an action-adventure series that chronicles the harrowing exploits of NYPD Detective John McClane. Renowned for its action-packed sequences and intricate plots, the series showcases McClane’s battles against various adversaries, especially the infamous Hans Gruber, during high-stakes crises.
