Well, it looks like Roland Emmerich made the right move writing two different scripts for Independence Day 2 since the previously on-the-fence Will Smith has now decided not to participate in the sequel.
Honestly, I think Smith probably made the right move here since to me this whole thing has bad idea written all over it. Once this film comes out in July 2016 it will have been 20 years since the last movie and sequel gaps that long have typically produced some questionable results at best (most recent examples being Tron: Legacy and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). Also, the fact that they wrote two separate scripts to accommodate Smith’s indecisiveness indicates some desperation on Emmerich’s part to make the movie regardless of quality.
Frankly though, I have to wonder if there’s much of a practical reason for Fox to keep Independence Day going without Smith. It will likely be a very expensive film (probably at least $150 million given Emmerich’s reputation) and could have used Smith’s bank-ability since White House Down proved that Emmerich’s movies are far from bulletproof at the box-office. Securing Smith would’ve also helped give the sequel a feeling of continuity with the original and now their only other real options to do that are Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum, neither of whom have much (if any) star power to speak of.
How do you think Independence Day 2 will fare without Will Smith? Did he make the right decision turning the film down? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Source: Deadline
