A follow-up to the mega-blockbuster Independence Day has been rumored since its debut back in 1996. After 15 years, any hope rabid fans (including myself) had for the sci-fi sequel were lost—even with vague news of star Will Smith attaching himself last year to a proposed ID42.
But it’s a new year, which means it’s time yet again for the powers that be to tease us with fresh alien invasion possibilities. This time it’s Vulture who hears through the grapevine that Fox is preparing not one, but two Independence Day sequels, and whether Will Smith is on board or not is no longer a problem. According to Vulture, Smith’s price tag for the proposed duo of movies would be a whopping $50 million. Add that to director Roland Emmerich’s hefty salary (who is currently venturing out from this action roots with Anonymous) and Fox realized they had a gargantuan blockbuster on their hands—not a risk they were ready to take.
So it seems they’ve found a way to make it happen without Smith, who is arguably one of Hollywood’s biggest, most reliable stars. The scripts in place evidently tell two independent movies, linked in a way that makes them one complete story a la Back to the Future 2 & 3. Sounds do-able—but do people want to see an Independence Day sequel without the cigar-chomping, alien-punching Captain Steven Hiller? What would an Independence Day even entail that’s not a complete rehash of the first movie?
We’ve spent a great deal of time speculating on this topic, but Fox seems to have figured it out. I imagine this new take will involve a lot of aliens, but significantly less “AWW HELL NO’s.” Prepare yourself!
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Source: Vulture
