Roland Emmerich made a name for himself with 1996’s ‘Independence Day’, a runaway success that helped launch Will Smith as a box office powerhouse. As successful as that film was, no sequel ever materialized until 2016’s ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’, which was made without Smith’s participation. In sharp contrast with the first movie, the sequel was both bashed by critics and a financial flop, ending its theatrical run after earning just $389.7 million. In hindsight, Emmerich says making the film without Smith was a mistake.
Speaking to Yahoo!, Emmerich said:
“I just wanted to make a movie exactly like the first, but then in the middle of production Will (Smith) opted out because he wanted to do ‘Suicide Squad’. I should have stopped making the movie because we had a much better script, then I had to really fast, cobble another script together. I should have just said no because all of a sudden I was making something I criticized myself: a sequel.”
For the sequel, Jessie T. Usher was added as Dylan Hiller, the son of Smith’s character, Steve Hiller. Vivica A. Fox, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch, Bill Pullman, and Brent Spiner from the first movie returned, and Liam Hemsworth co-starred as Jake Morrison.
RELATED: Roland Emmerich Says ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ Was A Mistake
Following the poor performance of ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’, Emmerich took a long time off from filmmaking to recover. But his new movie is about to arrive, the World War II flick ‘Midway’ with an all-star cast including Darren Criss, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Woody Harrelson, Nick Jonas, Alexander Ludwig, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Ed Skrein, and Patrick Wilson.
Prior to ‘Independence Day’, Emmerich experienced success with ‘Universal Soldier’ and ‘Stargate’, and post-‘Independence Day’ he directed ‘Godzilla’, ‘The Patriot’, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’, ‘10,000 BC’, and ‘White House Down’. ‘Universal Soldier’, and ‘Stargate’ received sequels, but Emmerich didn’t direct them, so it looks as though he is simply adverse to them in general. He has, however, announced plans to direct a reboot of ‘Stargate’.
Did you enjoy ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’? Or was it a mistake to make it?
