If 20th Century Fox is serious about moving forward with Independence Day 2, the studio will have to do it without Will Smith, because according to Deadline, he won’t be returning to the franchise. Luckily for fans of the series, Fox was prepared for this to happen. Director Roland Emmerich and co-producer Dean Devlin wrote two drafts of the sequel’s script — one with Smith as the main character and one without him at all.
Fox is preparing for this sequel to hit theaters in July of 2016, exactly 20 years after the release of the original. The only issue is whether or not fans will still be interested with Smith not around. Only time will tell.
[via Deadline]