Before the release of Live Free or Die Hard in 2007 a fourth sequel of the original Die Hard started to be a possibility .
Talks of a fourth sequel to Die Hard ( 1988 ) began before the release of Live Free or Die Hard ( 2007 ) , with Willis affirming that the latter would not be the last in the series , but pre-production did not start until September 2011 , when John Moore was officially announced as the director .