Chris Pratt knows exactly what he’s doing when he slips into new action movie mode. Sometimes that means dialing things back, while other times, it means deliberately putting himself at a disadvantage. In his 2026 movie schedule release for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Mercy, the Parks & Recs alum made a very specific choice that longtime action fans will immediately recognize as a clear nod to Die Hard. It’s a clever homage, but it also came with some consequences.
Pratt discussed the Bruce Willis inspiration and the fallout during a recent interview with Extra, in a YouTube clip featuring both him and his Mercy co-star Rebecca Ferguson. While promoting the film, the Guardians of the Galaxy star explained that going barefoot in the flick was an intentional choice, designed to mirror Willis as John McClane decades earlier. He explained:
I chose, yeah. It was an ode to Die Hard. I was like, ‘I wanna have no shoes.’ I think that there’s a certain vulnerability. So I’m feeling claustrophobic and I’m stuck and I have no shoes.
That sense of exposure fits the story Mercy is trying to tell. The film centers on Pratt as a detective on trial for the murder of his wife, forced to prove his innocence to an advanced AI judge played by Ferguson. It’s a high-pressure setup where control is constantly being stripped away, both physically and psychologically. Removing shoes might seem small, but on screen, it immediately raises the stakes.
Of course, action scenes don’t happen in a vacuum, and the Super Mario Bros. voice star was quick to emphasize that safety was still a priority. Like any major production, Mercy had a full stunt team and extensive rehearsals to make sure the choreography worked before cameras rolled. He continued:
I had a stuntman that would help me… You always have a stuntman. You know, by the time you’re doing the stunts, it has been done several times in rehearsals and to get the cameras right so that you would go in there and seamlessly do it.
Even with that preparation, things can still go sideways. On one of the early days of filming, the Jurassic World franchise star took a hard tackle into a wall, resulting in an injury. The chubby sidekick turned leading man added:
I got tackled into the wall and my foot came up and hit this post… I’m at that age now where I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s going to hurt for the rest of my life.’ It was good that I got to sit for two weeks because my ankle was pretty jacked up for those two weeks that I was sitting in the chair.
There’s something fitting about the situation. Die Hard endures because John McClane is always paying a price. He bleeds, limps, and earns every inch he gains. Pratt’s homage taps into that same 80s action-movie-hero philosophy, even if it went a bit further than intended and resulted in a real-world injury. Fortunately, the timing worked in his favor, as much of the following weeks of filming had him seated and strapped to a chair.
The difference, of course, is that movie injuries vanish once the credits roll. Real ones linger. Still, Pratt seems comfortable with the trade-off. The reference landed, the scene gained extra tension, and Mercy ultimately benefited from the added vulnerability.
Mercy opens in theaters January 23, so be sure to check your local listings for show times.