Independence Day Won’t Get A 3D Re-release After All

By David Wharton | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

As somebody who isn’t a fan of 3D in the first place, this news at most prompts a slight shrug from me, but I’m sure there are fans out there who would have loved to watch a 3D re-release of Independence Day in theaters. Alas, it shall not be. Fox has canceled their plans for a 3D release of ID4, so I guess you’ll have to celebrate our Independence Day with your Blu-ray copy. If it makes you feel any better, put on some dark sunglasses and pretend it’s in 3D.

The 3D re-release was originally scheduled for July 3, 2013 — as you’d expect — but now it’s dead, for whatever reason. That reason will have to remain a mystery for now, because Fox didn’t include any explanation of why their plans were being scrapped. Presumably there’s either some problem with the 3D conversion or they just decided there wasn’t enough interest to justify the expense. That latter one seems unlikely, since Hollywood has been slapping the third dimension onto everything they can get their hands on, the better to raid the contents of our wallets with higher ticket prices. Maybe somebody in the cast only looks attractive in 2D? Maybe the mysterious cabal plotting against Randy Quaid squashed the project as part of their overall plan to ruin his life? Yeah, it’s probably that last one.

It’s also unclear what this cancellation will mean for the long-gestating Independence Day sequels. If Fox truly intends to resurrect the property with sequels, you’d think they’d jump on the chance to get the movie back in the public eye with a re-release.