The Lives of Others star Sebastian Koch has apparently been cast as the villain in Bruce Willis's latest Die Hard sequel, A Good Day To Die Hard.

The German actor will join Bruce and Jai Courtney in Die Hard 5, along with Russian newcomer Yulia Snigir, and both are thought to be playing villainous roles, Belfast Telegraph reported citing Variety.

Star of TV series Spartacus: Blood And Sand Jai will play John McLane's son in the film, which sees the heroic U.S. cop stage a prison escape in Moscow.

McClane (Bruce) is set to face his greatest challenge ever when his estranged son Jack is caught up in a daring prison escape with a rogue Russian leader, forcing father and son to work together to stay alive and save the world.

Directed by Max Payne's John Moore, filming on Die Hard 5 is due to begin in Russia imminently, for a planned February 2013 release.