Will Smith has expressed his lack of interest to sign-up for the sequels however Bill Pullman (to reprise his role as President Thomas J. Whitmore) will be joining the fight to defeat the aliens. Emmerich promised that once they receive the “go-ahead” for the sequel, Jeff Goldblum would definitely be back to reprise his role as David Levinson the MIT computer expert.

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Independence Day (1996): White House destroyed by the alien spaceship

Independence day was directed by German director Roland Emmerich, who co-wrote the script with producer Dean Devlin. Devlin began writing an outline for a script with Emmerich to position a possible sequel in May 2004, however the attempt to continue the originally story posed too many obstacles and the idea was abandoned. The turning point came in October 2009 when Emmerich reconsidered the possibility of a sequel and said he is prepare to make two sequels to form a trilogy.

On June 24, 2011, Devlin confirmed that he and Emmerich have found an idea for the sequels and have written a treatment for it. Will Smith was still considered to be the center of the franchise, hoping that the “Bad Boys” actor will reprise his role as Captain Steven Hiller. Discussions for Smith returning were halted In October 2011 due to Fox’s refusal to provide the $50 million salary demanded by Smith. Emmerich did however commit to a back-to-back release, regardless of Smith’s involvement.

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Independence Day (1996): Captured alien

In July 2012, Devlin announced the script takes place 16 years after the original film’s events (matching up to real world time passed). In March 2013, Emmerich stated the films will take place 20 years after the original, seeing the ruthless aliens back to continue the fight. The reinforcements were only dispatched after finally receiving a distress call.

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Jeff Goldblum (left) and Bill Pullman (right)

The new films will be named “ID Forever Part I” and ”ID Forever Part II”, focusing on the next generation of heroes, including the stepson of Will Smith’s character in the original film. No official release dates have been confirmed.

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Independence Day (1996): Spaceship hovering over the city