Deadline is reporting that director Roland Emmerich and co-writer and producer Dean Devlin are going to have to figure out a way to fight the Earth invading aliens without Captain Steven Hiller as Will Smith has informed Fox that he won't be returning for the sequel to Independence Day.
The film is currently set to be released on July 4 weekend, 2016, the 20th anniversary of the original film that grossed over $817 million worldwide.
The original film helped launch Smith's career, quickly making him one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Word is that Fox will continue pushing forward with the project without Smith as two scripts were originally crafted, one with Smith's character and one without.
Smith, who had an impressive run of blockbusters, is also planning to leave the Men in Black franchise as Sony is working to reboot the franchise after failing to get out of the red, which was in large part due to the high grosses paid to the principles.
About Stephen Davis
I owe this hobby/career to the one and only Stephanie Peterman who, while interning at Fox, told me that I had too many opinions and irrelevant information to keep it all bottled up inside. I survived my first rated R film, Alive, at the ripe age of 8, it took me months to grasp the fact that Julia Roberts actually died at the end of Steel Magnolias, and I might be the only person alive who actually enjoyed Sorority Row…for its comedic value of course. While my friends can drink you under the table, I can outwatch you when it comes iconic, yet horrid 80s films like Adventures in Babysitting and Troop Beverly Hills. I have no shame when it comes to what I like, and if you have a problem with that, then we’ll settle it on the racquetball court. I see too many movies to actually win any film trivia contest, so don’t waste your first pick on me. My friends rent movies from my bookcase shelves, and one day I do plan to start charging. I long to live in LA, where my movie obsession will actually help me fit in, but for now I am content with my home in Austin. I prefer indies to blockbusters, Longhorns to Sooners and Halloween to Friday the 13th. I miss the classics, as well as John Ritter, and I hope to one day sit down and interview the amazing Kate Winslet.
