The White House-obliterating aliens from 1996′s box office smash "Independence Day" are coming back to theaters, according to a report from Deadline. 20th Century has officially greenlit the project and is looking to lock up original director Roland Emmerich to return. By locking up deals now, the sequel is on track for a June 24, 2016 release date, but Deadline also speculates that it could easily move to July 4, 2016 to capitalize on the holiday weekend as the first film did.
The original film, which grossed $811 million worldwide, starred Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman, though the sequel will likely move forward without Smith, who is reportedly being wooed for an unspecified role in Warner Bros.' "Suicide Squad" adaptation. Goldblum and Pullman are expected to return, likely alongside a new star. Michael B. Jordan was under consideration over a year ago, but his current obligations and the production schedule may mean Emmerich and Co. have to move in a new direction.
The script has been through numerous drafts as the project was originally intended for a summer 2015 release, with the current draft by Nicolas Wright and James A. Woods. The original draft was written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin and later revised by Carter Blanchard before James Vanderbilt took a crack at it, as well.
What I still want to know is how a 1996-era Apple laptop interfaced with an alien computer system to upload the "killer" virus? If this sequel could explain that ridiculous nonsense to me that would be great...
