Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin have been talking up the possibility of an Independence Day sequel almost ever since the first film destroyed a landmark near you, but it’s the looming 20th anniversary of the gung-ho sci-fi that has finally kicked Independence Day 2 into gear. Emmerich and Devlin initially wrote their own screenplay draft, before James Vanderbilt swooped in for a pass. Now the project has gained its third screenwriting round, with the latest draft to be hammered out by Carter Blanchard.
Blanchard's is one of those names not yet tested by the box office but suddenly much sought after in Hollywood. He currently has at least half a dozen completed screenplays in the works, ranging from the simply-optioned to the well-into-pre-production. He's worked on thrillers Diver and Near Death, the horror Dead Asleep, the Simon Kinberg-produced family film Kindergarten Heroes, and Ruben Fleischer's videogame adaptation Spyhunter. He also sold his spec script for the sci-fi Glimmer to Dreamworks, earning himself a personal call from Steven Spielberg in the process.
Plot-wise, what we think we know about the possibly-titled ID4-EVER is that it involves the alien reinforcements summoned by a distress call in the first film finally arriving after the long, wormhole-assisted journey to our planet. They are somewhat miffed, on arrival, by the destruction of their first wave. That ignites a new battle for an Earth on which the surviving humans have haphazardly learned to harness the left-behind alien technology. Visits to the alien homeworld are not on the agenda: "It's always about the Earth getting invaded", says Emmerich.
Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum have both indicated their willingness to come back, but Will Smith has proved more of a sticking point. Initially Fox categorically ruled him out as being, these days, both too busy and too expensive. Since the disappointment of After Earth, however, there have been hints that his casting may not be impossible after all.
It’s not all returning cast though: two decades on, there are strong indications of a Next Generation element. “It’s still some of the same characters, but also new younger characters; it’s a little bit like the sons take over,” says Emmerich. Michael B. Jordan has been in talks for an unspecified role. Son of Smith?
Independence Day 2’s current release date is July 1, 2016.