Roland Emmerich Wants The Independence Day Sequels To Be Lovable

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

The highest grossing movie of 1996 was Roland Emmerich’s summer blockbuster Independence Day. This film defined what a summer blockbuster would be for years to come. Things have changed since 1996, though, and now summer blockbusters are expected to be in 3D. Unsurprisingly, 20th Century Fox, the studio behind Independence Day, is getting set to re-release the all-star disaster film in 3D, on July 3rd next summer. The studio also has plans to release its upcoming sequel films in 3D, despite Emmerich’s opposition to the 3D technology itself.

The plan is to shoot the sequel films, ID Forever: Part One and ID Forever: Part Two, back-to-back and then up-convert them to 3D. So just add 3D to those terrible titles. Emmerich’s co-writer and producer, Dean Devlin, says they have the “right idea” and it’s “quite unique.” Both Emmerich and Devlin are staying close-lipped about the project because they still need to sign the principle actors, including Jeff Goldblum, Will Smith, and Bill Pullman, in order to make the sequels worthwhile.

In an interview with Total Film, Devlin disclosed their approach to making the next installments of Independence Day. He says that the secret ingredient to Independence Day’s success was its “loveable” tone. Devlin continues:

The thing that really hit me about the movie is how much love there is in it: between the characters; that the filmmakers had making it; that the cast had for each other. As we’re approaching a sequel we’re focusing on that aspect of it. Because I think that was really the key as to why it worked for everyone. It was lovable.

The cast of the original Independence Day was indeed easy to like, and that probably helped contribute to the film’s success. Let’s face it, Independence Day is pretty terrible in several ways. Do we really need to see a sequel to this film without the box office draw of the original cast?