'A Good Day To Die Hard' Star Jai Courtney Set To Play Kyle Reese In Alan Taylor's 'Terminator: Genesis'

Last year's sequel to the classic Die Hard franchise was meant to be the first blockbuster of the year, and was set to put Spartacus actor Jai Courtney on the map. Of course things didn't exactly work out the way they were originally intended to as the film was critically panned, but it seem one good thing did come from it, and that was future roles for Courtney. With upcoming roles in blockbusters such as young adult novel adaption Divergent, and the Angelina Jolie directed drama Unbroken, it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Paramount kept the actor on their radar. And sure enough, it seems his turn as John McClane's son is finally paying off as he'll be joining yet another iconic franchise as the new Kyle Reese in the upcoming sequel Terminator: Genesis.

 

The Australian actor was one of many actors being considered for the part, as we'd heard names such as Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: Days of Future Past) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), the casting had initially come down to Courtney and The Host star Boyd Holbrook (How was coincidentally also on the shortlist to play Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2). Although it's still unknown what direction Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World) and Paramount are planning on taking the character in, given that this is a reboot of the original, it's unknown whether some elements from the original character will be changed around. Courtney's older Kyle Reese could be explained through time travel element that will likely be explained in the film's story.

Early on we'd heard that the main three characters the film would be focusing on would be Reese, an older John Connor, and a young Sarah Connor. Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) had since landed the Sarah Connor part, while Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) was set as John Connor, so it seems Courtney will be the last major casting addition the film will be making. The age choices for the actors are a bit odd, given that John is the son of Sarah in the original trilogy, and Reese is John's father who's actually from the future, so it'll be interesting to see how much time travel really is in the film, and how all these related characters will end up crossing paths (Similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past).

For those who don't remember, Kyle Reese had been the original person that an adult John Connor had sent back in time to protect his mother Sarah. The T-800 Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger had been sent back to assassinate Sarah in an attempt to prevent the birth of her son John, who'd eventually grow to be the leader of the resistance against the Terminator's creator; Skynet. During his time protecting Sarah, the two began a relationship which resulted in John's conception. It's unknown whether this complex timeline will be restored for Terminator: Genesis, but given that it is a reboot, we can probably expect some modifications here and there. The original Reese was played by Michael Biehn, and he later appeared as a teenager played by Anton Yelchin in Terminator: Salvation.

So what do you think of Jai Courtney playing Kyle Reese? Would you have preferred someone else in the role? Sound off below!