In today’s edition of Sequels That Are Problematic From The Start, we bring to you the current status of Roland Emmerich’s attempt to stay relevant, a.k.a. Independence Day 2. The sequel to the 1996 blockbuster has been in development for years now, dating back to 2002, and was originally conceived of as a two-part project because studios seem to like the idea of making insane amounts of money. Karmically enough, money was the major factor in preventing these movies from actually getting off the ground, as Will Smith’s asking price was “too expensive.”
Moving forward, apparently that’s still the case, and Fox has officially left Smith behind, choosing instead to fill his shoes with Jessie Usher (Survivor’s Remorse), who will play “the son of Smith’s character” (though if it’s supposed to be the same kid from the original, that’s actually his step-son—watch it again, everybody).
If this development concerns you (and it should), you can at least take solace in the fact that Jeff Goldblum will reprise his role as the environmentalist Mac user David Levinson (basically the biggest hipster of the ’90s), and Liam Hemsworth will join in some undefined capacity.
And before you ask, no, the most badass president of all time, Bill Pullman, is not confirmed to return yet. You had one job, Emmerich. One job.
The project is slated for a June (not July? Who’s in charge here?!) 2016 release.
