‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ Adds Supermodel Anne Vyalitsyna to Cast

The fifth Die Hard film – officially titled A Good Day to Die Hard – is in the midst of shooting, with a cast that includes Jai Courtney, Amaury Nolasca, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Sebastian Koch, Yulia Snigir, and Cole Hauser (besides, of course, Bruce Willis as John McClane).

Now, Variety is reporting that Anne Vyalitsyna – a Sports Illustrated supermodel turned actress (and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine’s ex-girlfriend) – is joining the cast in her debut role.

There’s no word yet as to the role she’ll have in the film, but one presumes that since Yulia Snigir is a female villain, Vyalitsyna will be playing a potential love interest to John “Jack” McClane Jr. (played by Jai Courtney). Because really, people, what’s a movie these days without some romance?

Then again, it’s entirely possible that Megalyn Echikunwoke (House of Lies) will fill that role, as well – if not both actresses, for that matter.

Unfortunately, there’s still relatively little information as to the overall plot of this sequel (pentaquel?) except that it involves bad guys in Russia that John McClane and his son must stop.

The idea of “Russian bad guys” doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the originality of the film’s conflict. They’re essentially the go-to throwaway antagonists for this sort of international action film – more caricatures and bullet-sponges than anything truly intimidating. Even James Bond left them behind over a decade ago.

Which isn’t to say that they can’t make for interesting villains. Perhaps Skip Woods – the author of A Good Day to Die Hard‘s screenplay – found a way to introduce something new to the whole “Russian bad guy palette.” Let’s hope that’s the case.


John McClane and son in ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’

There was a rumor a while back that Patrick Stewart was under “strong consideration” for the role of the film’s primary villain – a disgraced Russian general plotting to assassinate a visiting U.S. President. It’s unclear if that is the actual plot of the film, or if Stewart will indeed be playing the general, but it’s a nice idea – a badass cinematic battle between bald hero and bald bad guy.

The again, John McClane is at his best when he’s a fairly regular guy up against semi-impossible odds (Die Hard and Die Hard with a Vengeance); he’s less interesting when he’s basically a superhero (Die Hard 4) – at least, in my opinion. Hopefully that’s precisely what the filmmakers are going for here.

A Good Day to Die Hard, directed by John Moore (Max Payne), hits theaters February 14, 2013. What better way is there to spend Valentine’s Day?