The sci-fi gods have been good to us today. One of our all-time favorite alien-invasion films is actually getting a sequel!
In case you’ve been living under a rock and have never heard of Independence Day, well for starters, shame on you. Who doesn’t remember the epic-ness of the giant alien spaceship and that equally giant laser beam blowing up the White House, the Empire State Building and all of New York City? I mean, the film grossed $817.4 million worldwide for a reason (and that’s back in 1996, when movie tickets were actually affordable).
So it comes as a pleasant surprise (more like an answer to our prayers) that co-producer Dean Devlin and legendary Director Roland Emmerich have plans for a sequel, Independence Day 2. Heck, we were so excited that we even we even tried to imagine what the poster would look like (below).
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dean Devlin, disclosed some of the details:
I can tell you that Roland and I have been working together for the first time in 11 years and were every excited about the idea of doing it.”
But what we really wanted to know is what took them so long to make a sequel to what can only be considered the crme de la crme of alien-invasion films? Obviously, sharing this distinction with Mars Attacks and Invasion of The Body Snatchers (two films, whose worthy sequels are still in our daily prayers).
Devlin gave an honest answer (no beating around the bush with this one). He said:
We resisted doing the sequel for years because we still wanted to honor the first one. The first one gave us all careers, and we really love that movie and loved the experience.”
And he’s not kidding! Independence Day launched Will Smith‘s big-screen career and cemented his status as a hollywood leading-man.
Fans of the classic won’t have to wait long, this development is especially exciting since it comes just a month after the announcement of a 3D re-release of the original Independence Day. The 3D version is set for release on July 3rd 2013, exactly 17 years after its 1996 opening day. And not a day too soon the film which for the longest time I actually thought was the real reason for the fireworks on July 4th has a huge following.
I can’t wait to see Will Smith or maybe Jaden Smith kick some slimy-alien ass again after all, the Smiths are all about family co-starring; just read the updates on After-Earth if you’re need further proof.
My gut feeling tells me that the sequel (if it is a sequel) will be a big departure from the original. Maybe this time the aliens are going to have a more ‘conversational’ role revenge is a lot sweeter when you can gloat about it but one thing is almost certain, the film will be in 3D.
No timeline has been released yet, but stay tuned for upcoming casting news!
