Wild rumour about hit movie Pearl Harbour resurfaces thanks to viral clip

A bizarre blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the blockbuster Pearl Harbour has resurfaced online – and with it, a very strange urban legend.

A bizarre blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the blockbuster Pearl Harbour has resurfaced on social media – and with it, one of the stranger urban legends in modern cinema.

Michael Bay’s 2001 romantic war drama Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Jennifer Garner – and John McClane?

Ever since the film came out, eagle-eyed viewers have been convinced that Bruce Willis’ iconic Die Hard character can be seen in the background of one scene in the movie, as Garner’s character Sandra emotes in the foreground.

A familiar face in the background...

Jennifer Garner at left and – wait a minute, is that...?

As a friend tries to placate her, various soldiers walk past – including one who looks like the spitting image of Willis circa the early 90s, in character as John McClane in the hit action franchise Die Hard.

The bizarre sighting has led to a pervasive urban legend over the years: That Bay, for whatever reason, had Willis’ Die Hard character digitally added into his own film, perhaps as an “easter egg” for fans.

The background extra walks across the shot quickly...

… and looks a lot like Bruce Willis in Die Hard.

That claim was presented as fact in a new viral tweet this week, claiming that Bay had “decided to digitally insert Bruce Willis as John McClane into the background of a scene.” The clip has since been viewed on Twitter more than four million times.

But others aren’t so sure: A trivia post on IMDB notes that while “the likeness is certainly very striking... it is not Willis, it’s a young extra.” Other fans have also noted that the shots of Willis do not match any in the Die Hard films, suggesting it wasn’t – particularly with the CGI available in 2001.

Bay and Willis have worked together, on the 1998 disaster epic Armageddon, but their relationship was reportedly frosty, making it unlikely Bay would spend a considerable sum of money to add his former lead actor into the background of his next film.

But, with Bay never having publicly commented on the rumour, the urban legend persists more than 20 years later.

Originally published as Wild rumour about hit movie Pearl Harbour resurfaces thanks to viral clip