Over the weekend and via Variety came news that Will Smith won’t be reprising his Captain Steven Heller role in the INDEPENDENCE DAY sequel(s?) currently being mounted by returning helmer Roland Emmerich and returning producer Dean Devlin.
While this may be something of a kick in the nuts to fans of 1996’s highly successful progenitor picture, the possibility of Smith refusing to jump on-board was anticipated from the outset of sequel development. Accordingly, alternate versions of the script were apparently assembled to accommodate either his involvement, or lack thereof. Clealry, they'll be going with the non Heller version.
The INDEPENDENCE DAY continuation is currently being targeted for a 2016 release - presumably around July 4. Emmerich has previously indicated that the next film will, in part, look at the state of the world after the events of the first film. Namely: what does a human civilization look like post-alien encounter & after being retrofitted with extraterrestrial tech left over from the first film? But then there’s the matter of those space bastards, who are still out there…and probably not much nicer.
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Glen Oliver
"Merrick"
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