Director Roland Emmerich is indeed making Independence Day 2, which is very tentatively scheduled to release approximately 20 years after its predecessor. Emmerich has stated that about half of the original cast – including Jeff Goldblum, thank God – will be returning, though he wouldn’t want Will Smith to get top billing, thus overshadowing the rest of the cast.
But according to Emmerich in a recent interview he did with Digital Spy, “anything can happen.” Smith and Emmerich are back in talks about the film, and the possibility that ID2 will star Will Smith is back on the table. No word yet on whether or not they’ll find a way to write “welcome to Earth” into the script again, setting up a franchisable future where “welcome to Earth” is to Independence Day as “yippee ki-yay” is to Die Hard.
ID2 is set to pick up in real time, as the remaining aliens have been traveling via wormhole for 20 or more years. They make their way to Earth, only to find that humans have managed to wield the alien’s technology, like the moochers that we are. So not only is this going to be an alien movie, a Jeff Goldblum movie, and now a Will Smith movie, but also – it’s going to be an imagined future technology movie.
No word on Smith’s role in the sequel, beyond “anything can happen,” and I’m not one to speculate, especially since 20 years have passed in his fictional character’s life. While I don’t think Smith himself would turn down the opportunity to star, I wonder how movie studios feel about Smith’s box office prowess, given recent flops such as After Earth.
While I would literally watch anything with Jeff Goldblum, the very existence of Independence Day 2 is like a dream come true for me. Also, I feel like watching the original film and the sequel together will really create a unique opportunity to discuss what an action flick was made of in the ’90s versus today.
Are you looking forward to Independence Day 2? Any speculation as to Will Smith’s role? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.