Nobody knows for sure where Will Smith stands on reprising his role for Fox’s upcoming Independence Day 2. But that doesn’t mean the After Earth actor isn’t at least discussing the possibility of punching out more alien life forms. (In between ID4 and the Men in Black movies, he might be Earth’s foremost etraterrestrial-buster.)
[youtube-custom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfPWpEKhgfk size=”medium”]Director Roland Emmerich has publicly said both that the former Fresh Prince is too expensive and uninterested in returning to play Captain Steven Hiller. Following the making of After Earth, Smith claimed he was shrugging off blockbusters and moving toward more story-driven movies.
But more recently, Emmerich has gone on the record to Digital Spy saying that the film has engaged Smith in discussions about making the repeat. “I sometimes say no, Will Smith will not be in it because he didn’t want to do it at first. Now we have a meeting planned, we want to talk about it again. Anything can happen.” Oh, the suspense!
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With or without Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum have signed on for the sequel, but when we’ll see it—and exactly how many will come—remain as confusing as if Smith will return. Early reports claimed there was a possibility of a two-part sequel, but maybe let producers first square away getting one set before we get too immersed in life beyond that.
As announced in June, the film’s official release date stands as July 3, 2015, but rumors now have the movie moving back to 2016, a full 20 years since the original hit theaters.
A two-decade gap does tie things up nicely for Independence Day, but also serves as a medium wait time for remaking sci-fi hits. Riddick, starring Vin Diesel, first appeared in 2000 and again in 2004. Just nine years removed from the sequel we see the third installment hit theaters. While Riddick counts time normally, RoboCop needs to back down from dog years for people to keep track of its remake window. The original hit in 1987 and we’ll see the remake in 2014. Whether 19 years or 20 years later and with or without Smith, remaking Independence Day falls in line with other sci-fi thrillers.