Folks, we have good news and bad news. Independence Day 2 is definitely going to happen. Yeah! But Will Smith isn’t going to return. Boo.
Deadline have confirmed that the head-honchos over at 20th Century Fox have finally given the go-ahead to the blockbuster disaster sequel. In fact they have even earmarked when production on the film will finally get under way too. They want shooting to start in May. But who is going to return for the action extravaganza then? Roland Emmerich will once again be directing. He even gave the first draft of the screenplay a whirl alongside Dean Devlin. It was then handed to James Vanderbilt who sprinkled in some of the screenwriting genius that made Zodiac and The Amazing Spider-Man so compelling. However 20th Century Fox still had some issues; so, Carter Blanchard did another draft, which was finally approved by the studio.
Other than that though, we’re not really sure who else will be returning to the series. Will Smith, who stays away from sequels more often than he embraces them, has wanted no part of this film. Even though pretty much every moviegoer in the land wants to see him reprise the character of Captain Steve Hiller, he's out. Will Independence Day 2 feel his loss? Probably. However there is every chance that nostalgic viewers will flock to the multiplexes thanks to the popularity of the original. Especially if Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman sign up to reappear in their roles too. They both have previously made it well known that they would be interested in doing just that too.
There had previously been rumors that Roland Emmerich wanted to release two more installments to the franchise that he would shoot back-to-back. However the studio have decided that they only want to see one of these movies for the time being. Which is probably the right decision for the modern climate. It would have been a huge risk for them to have green lit two more Independence Day films, given the original was released all the way back in 1996. However the huge popularity of Independence Day suggests that there will still definitely be an audience out there for the series. The original film took in $811 million across the world when it hit cinemas. At the time, it was the second-highest grossing flick ever, but the influx of superhero movies since have pushed it down the list. It is now ranked as the 43rd highest-grossing film of all time. It’s safe to say that if Independence Day 2 can come anywhere near to its predecessor’s total when it hits cinemas on July 4, 2016 then 20th Century Fox will be ecstatic.
