Die Hard 4, Bruce is back

According to the BBC, Bruce Willis's first turn as wisecracking cop John McClane made him a star.

Now a fourth instalment of the Die Hard series could be in cinemas by summer 2007, Bruce Willis has announced at the Cannes Film Festival.

"We're as close as we've ever got to getting Die Hard 4 started," the 55-year-old actor said.

Scriptwriters were forced to rewrite the film's plot due to similarities with the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in the southern US last August.

Die Hard, released in 1988, made Willis a star and led to a host of imitations.

"It won't be called Die Hard 4 but that will be the story. Hopefully it will be out next summer," he said on Friday in the French resort. Excellent. My friend works in the Fox Tower which was the building used in the first movie. It is cool to see it on a regular basis. Die Hard 1 was one of the best movies ever.

Before it was rewritten, the plot was to involve an oil tanker explosion on the Mississippi river that sent huge waves crashing into New Orleans.

Willis reprised his role as tough and sardonic cop John McClane in Die Hard 2 in 1990 and Die Hard: With a Vengeance in 1995. Roll on.