Independence Day 2 Is GO!

In what must be one of the longest gestating sequels in recent memory Independence Day 2 has finally been given the green-light from studio 20th Century Fox.  There was a time when it was rumoured we’d get back-to-back sequels to the 1996 box-office smash hit but that idea seems to have been scuppered like a stranded alien battle-ship.

What is more surprising is that while the news was broken yesterday evening by the original film’s producer Dean Devlin Deadline are reporting that director Roland Emmerich (he who likes to blow up the White House) has not officially signed on.  They go onto say this is nothing more than a formality and that he is expected to commit to the project in the coming days.

So what can we expect from Independence Day 2?  The word is that the script, by Carter Blanchard, will see the alien race of the first film return to earth to avenge their fallen comrades only to find that humankind have retro fitted the alien technology to help them fight the would-be-invaders.  It’s unclear at this point if any of the original cast will return for the sequel with Will Smith in particular saying he would not be part of it.  That being said he’s had a few box office flops recently and a re-visit to an old character might just help rectify that.

Shooting is scheduled to start in May of 2015 with a release date of 24th June 2016 in the States.

Source – Dean Devlin via Twitter and Deadline