It’s been over a decade since John McClane has put in an appearance on our nation’s screens but, as always, he’s coming back with a bang. 20th Century Fox has announced that the latest Die Hard film will be released next summer, specifically June 29th, 2007. That date puts the fourth Die Hard flick in direct competition with Paramount’s Transformers and Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille, both of which open directly on July 4th.

The release date is something Fox is considering particularly appropriate for the film since John McClane will be fending off another terrorist attack, this time from computer based terrorists who attempt to cripple the country’s computers. By placing it near the Fourth of July Fox hopes to cash in on the surge of patriotism, a move they made previously with Independence Day. Which would you rather see in our most patriotic hour: giant freakin’ robots fighting, a hungry animated rat, or a ten-years-older John McClane hollering “yippie-ki-yay mother *cough* - I’m getting too old for this shit.”

Along with the release date, Fox announced a new title for the film. No longer is it Die Hard: Reset as we just heard a few days ago. Now the film is Live Free or Die Hard, an equally terrible name but let’s be honest, the franchise has never been strong on nomenclature (Die Harder anyone?). I actually prefer the new name over the old one, which was worse than the originally suggested Die Hard 4.0.

What wasn’t announced was any casting beyond Bruno himself returning to the franchise. There’s no confirmation of the Justin Long rumor we’ve been hearing lately, nor of the return of any of Willis’s former cohorts. Sure, Samuel L. Jackson may be busy with Snakes on a Plane, but wouldn’t it be cool to hear from Reginald VelJohnson or William Atherton again?