Eric D Wilkinson’s plea to write revival of action franchise was unsuccessful – but his horror script about the mythical Jersey Devil is optioned by Eclectic Pictures

A Los Angeles screenwriter who took out a full-page advert in a film industry magazine to pitch his idea to revive the Die Hard franchise has been rewarded with a Hollywood deal.

Fan Eric D Wilkinson, a producer and writer of independent movies, spent thousands of dollars from his savings to take out the Hollywood Reporter ad, which took the form of an open letter to star Bruce Willis, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Len Wiseman. The move came after news broke that plans for a new instalment in the long-running action saga could feature 60-year-old Bruce Willis alongside a younger actor, both playing versions of battling the New York cop John McClane.

Die Hard’s executives declined to get in touch following Wilkinson’s letter, but the screenwriter received a call from the office of the Hollywood action movie producer Avi Lerner (whose credits include The Expendables and Olympus Has Fallen), asking him to send more material. Wilkinson and his writing partner Richard Schenkman have since agreed a deal with LA-based Eclectic Pictures, which has a first-look arrangement with Lerner’s Millennium Films. The company has now optioned their high-concept screenplay The Devil, about the mythical flying creature said to have terrorised residents of southern New Jersey for centuries, for an unspecified sum.

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The screenwriting duo now hope to see their film made as the first in a potential horror franchise about the monster. Wilkinson, a self-confessed Die Hard obsessive, told the Guardian: “The one thing I hope the ad demonstrated was that I’m a creative person with good ideas that resonate with people. Certainly getting this call, leading to this result, was the second-best scenario.

“Richard and I have developed many ideas together but this is one of my favourites. Forget what you think you know about the Jersey Devil – ours is bigger, badder and scarier than anything you could possibly imagine.”

It’s not clear if Wilkinson’s idea for a new Die Hard film will ever see the light of day. In his advert the screenwriter outlines a script in which McClane is framed for a murder relating to a case from his early days as a New York cop, and finds himself transported to a prison populated by killers and terrorists. When two of the latter mount a riot in an attempt to escape and embark on a huge attack on US soil, only McClane can stop them.

Reports surrounding Wiseman’s real Die Hard film suggest it will instead take place partly in 1979, showing McClane’s first forays into crime-fighting. Willis would play an older version of the invincible New York cop in the present day.