The Bruce Willis Thriller That Shouldn't Have Been Canceled

Bruce Willis is a mighty fine actor with two mighty fine Primetime Emmys and numerous other awards to show for it. However, if there's a criticism that could be directed toward his craft, it's that his work isn't particularly varied. He can definitely do troubled and low-key (see: "The Sixth Sense"). Willis has also been known to make a splash as a villain on rare occasions, such as his one-off "Miami Vice" turn as big-time gun runner Tony Amato and his classic role in "The Jackal." However, the vast majority of his roles are painted with some shade of "charming rogue," which is a great niche to have — it did give us "Die Hard," after all — but can be somewhat limiting from a thespian standpoint.

This is why it's disappointing to learn of "Wake," the Bruce Willis thriller that never was. Willis originally signed for the movie, which was supposed to be directed by John Pogue, in 2015. From a Willis fan's point of view, the movie's premise was particularly interesting: The actor would have played Red Forrester, a man who was outcast from a secluded island by his family, and who now has to defend said island from intruders who attack during his brother's wake. The catch: Red, the movie's central character, is a sociopath whose personality disorder makes him unable to feel fear. 

Apart from Willis, "Wake" had a stacked cast that would have featured names like Academy Award winners Ben Kingsley and Ellen Burstyn, as well as Piper Perabo. Unfortunately, the movie fell on dark days soon after Willis signed on. Behind-the-scenes financing and scheduling issues soon caused both Willis and Pogue to abandon the project, and that was it for the movie. Here's why the cancellation of "Wake" is a huge shame. 

Would "Wake" have been a good film? Considering that the strongest movie in John Pogue's director résumé is (the admittedly very entertaining) straight-to-video shark horror flick "Deep Blue Sea 3," it doesn't seem like a given. However, the reason the movie should absolutely not have been canceled is ultimately simple: Regardless of the quality of the film around him, the role of Red Forrester would potentially have allowed Bruce Willis to use an unprecedented number of tools from his acting toolkit.

Let's face it, the film's premise of Willis stuck defending an island against a group of villains is just "Die Hard" with fewer skyscrapers and more beach, and more "Die Hard" is never a bad thing (unless it's the genuinely awful "A Good Day to Die Hard"). This alone would have made the movie an interesting addition to Willis' filmography. However, what seals the deal for me is the description of his character. Red Forrester being a genuine sociopath who struggles with feeling fear (and likely other emotions) would have added an interesting dramatic element to the movie and given him a far wider and more nuanced ranged to play with than his typical roles.

Then again, "Wake" could also have been a horrible misfire, like many of the movies Willis starred in before he retired from acting in 2022 following his aphasia diagnosis. We'll never know for sure, but the movie certainly seemed to have enough potential that it's a shame it never got made.