There has been a decent amount of movement on the announced sequel to Independence Day, from the sci-fi film landing a release date to director Roland Emmerich confirming various casting moves. We weren’t exactly sure what the movie was going to be about, though even those details now are snapping into place.
Insiders close to the production are telling Bloody Disgusting that the Independence Day sequel is going to go by the name of ID Forever, and will be about the following: 20 years after the events of the first film, a new wave of alien "reinforcements" arrive at our planet in response to a distress signal sent up by the "first wave" of extraterrestrial visitors. As expected, insanity ensues.
That plot synopsis, while simplified, makes sense. If we had just destroyed a series of ships sent to our planet to explore and possibly take over, then the overlords who commissioned that journey likely would want to find out what happened. Why wasn’t any data sent back from planet Earth? How come none of the ships returned safely from the voyage? Is this Pullman, or Paxton?
Setting the sequel 20 years after the initial events of the 1996 blockbuster also helps explain why certain cast members like Will Smith have chosen not to return for further alien adventures. Maybe arrogant but talented Captain Steven Hiller went down in flames on a previous mission. Or maybe he’s still so torched by the failure of After Earth that the idea of trying more science-fiction is terrifying.
There’s another bit of interesting information in the Bloody Disgusting report. The site claims that its sources are telling them that ID Forever (such a terrible name) is going into production as "Part 1 of a new series," meaning that 20th Century Fox might be trying to do what Sony, Warner Bros. and Disney are doing with Ghostbusters, DC Comics and Marvel superheroes, in general. Create a new world. Build a franchise. Milk multiple sequels for millions of dollars.
So far, we know that original Independence Day stars Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum are returning, and that they will be joined by Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher, who reportedly will be playing Hiller’s step-son in the film. Things are happening, and if reports are to be believed, this is the start of a long run of ID4 movies. Now, can we get to work about changing that title?
