Seems at least once a year rumblings of an “Independence Day” sequel grace the web. Only this time, it’s possible the rumours might solidify into something concrete.
Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin’s 1996 blockbuster was sequel primed for the moment in hit cinemas, but with the escalating costs of it’s cast (namely Will Smith, who has since gone on to become the biggest movie star in the world) and the aforesaid creative duo experiencing road-block story-wise, an “ID4 2″ has never got beyond the idea stage.
Now though, Emmerich says he and Devlin may have in fact cracked the storyline for a sequel. As for enticing the original cast back, for the right price, that’s another question.
“[C]reatively, for the very first time since we did the original, I feel we have a worthy concept, a worthy path to go,” the filmmaker tells THR. “…Whether or not we can make this happen, if we can get all the pieces to come together, that’s gonna be challenging.”
The original 1996 film starred Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Loggia, Adam Baldwin, Harry Connick Jr, Bill Pullman, Brent Spiner, Randy Quaid and Mary McDonnell, to name but a few of the ensemble’s many players. Since not everyone walked away in the original with a pulse, not all of the latter troupe would be required back. Assmuningly, Smith, Pullman and Goldblum would be atop of Devlin and Emmerich’s wish-list though, since they were the main human drawcards of the film.
What will hopefully help fuel the fires of an “ID4 2″ for Fox is the re-release of the original film in 3D next year.
Another flick of theirs Emmerich and Devlin had also spoke about doing sequels to (at Comic Con 2006, I remember them mentioning the possibility – - six years ago!) is their ’90s classic “Stargate”.
“Stargate has always had this empty hole,” he adds. “When we made the first one, we always intended on doing part two and three, and we were prevented for years. And our hope is that we can get another chance at Stargate and tell the entire story we wanted to tell.”
Emmerich’s latest is “White House Down”, starring Channing Tatum. The trades mentioned that James Woods is in talks with Emmerich to play a role in that today.
