With the long-anticipated sequel finally getting a green light last November, alongside news that Will Smith would not be returning to the franchise, it was only a matter of time before Roland Emmerich began searching for a new actor to lead the cast of ‘Independence Day 2.’ Sources now say that Emmerich is turning to ‘Hunger Games’ vet Liam Hemsworth for the leading role in ‘Independence Day 2,’ where he will star alongside returning cast-members Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman as they work together presumably to stop the second alien invasion of earth which will most likely occur during 4th of July festivities again (hence the title).
The plan is for the film to hit theaters on June 24, 2016, which is about a week shy of being exactly 20 years from the premiere of the original ‘Independence Day (which opened on July 3, 1996), a film which earned over 800 million in box office sales, and launched the disaster movie trend of destroying national and international landmarks that lasted for over a decade, and included such films as ‘Armageddon,’ ‘2012,’ ‘Deep Impact,’ ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ and all of the ‘Transformers’ movies (I know it’s out there, but it’s shockingly similar to ‘ID4’ if you think about it, with aliens coming to earth to kill humans and take over, producing vast amounts of carnage and property destruction along the way.)
This time around the script was written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin, with new drafts by James Vanderbilt, and a current re-write by Carter Blanchard. The film is being produced by Emmerich, Devlin and Harald Kloser, and is set to start shooting this May. If Hemsworth signs on, this will basically be his first “starring” role in a big-blockbuster, as he plays second (and sometimes third) fiddle to Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in ‘The Hunger Games‘ franchise.
How exactly he will fit in with Goldblum and Pullman, and what exactly their place in the story will be this time around is anyone’s guess, but by the casting alone I’d say the film is off to a solid start.
Source: Coming Soon
