It was way back in 1996 when the first "Independence Day" movie starring Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldbum was released on the big screen. Now that the premiere of the sequel is closing in, recent reports are loud that "Independence Day 2" was almost cancelled due to Smith's decline for the project.
According to reports, the director of the 1996 "Independence Day" movie, Roland Emmerich, almost lost his interest to film "Independence Day 2" because the previous' film's lead actor, Will Smith, who played the brave Captain Steven Hiller, said that he cannot do the sequel, Mirror UK has learned.
The same publication noted that Emmerich and the scriptwriter and producer of the movie, Dean Devlin, asked Smith to reprise his role in the sequel. It was also said that during that time, Smith has just completed filming "MIB 3," and was still pre-occupied in filming the 2013 movie "After Earth," which featured his son, Jaden Smith. The director added that his timing of telling Will about the project was quite bad. This was confirmed when the actor replied, saying that he cannot do three consecutive science-fiction films in a row.
Emmerich admitted that after Will's refusal, he lost the drive or excitement to do "Independence Day 2." However, what changed his mind is because of scriptwriters Nicolas Wright and James A. Woods, which were said to have rewritten the second half of "Independence Day 2." This led to the change of the film's storyline that shall center on the orphans who got their families killed during the first invasion.
On the other hand, given that the film was rewritten, it paved the way of bringing new stars to the franchise. The cast of the movie still includes Goldbum and Pullman, along with the addition of new cast members such as Liam Hemsworth, Tavis Tope, Angela Yeung, Jessie Usher and Maika Monroe, Empire Online reported.
Reports indicate that "Independence Day 2" is scheduled to be released this June 24, despite rumors that the movie is getting a July 4 premiere.
Watch "Independence Day: Resurgence" trailer below: