Man, this is a big day for decades-later sequel news. Before we start though, I have a question for you all: Does anyone even remember Independence Day: Resurgence coming out? I barely do, and I’ve seen the entire thing twice, if you’d believe it. Both were for free, don’t worry. I kinda wish it hadn’t been made, though. And you know who agrees with me? The director, Roland Emmerich.
Sitting down with Yahoo to promote his upcoming WWII flick Midway, Emmerich expressed serious regrets over his decision to make what he knew to be a subpar film:
“I just wanted to make a movie exactly like the first, but then in the middle of production Will opted out because he wanted to do Suicide Squad. I should have stopped making the movie because we had a much better script, then I had to really fast, cobble another script together.”
Will Smith’s lack of presence was certainly felt in the final movie that Resurgence became. Sure, we had Goldblum and a spooky, crazed Bill Pullman, but gosh dangit, we needed the Fresh Prince. I highly doubt that him being in the film would have made it much better at all though, if I’m being honest, as decades-later sequels are always hit-or-miss, and this was one heck of a miss.
Later in the interview with Yahoo, the maligned director admitted that “I should have just said no because all of a sudden I was making something I criticized myself: a sequel.”
Sadly, neither Emmerich or Will Smith have been on a hot streak in recent years. Emmerich’s tone-deaf Stonewall alienated audiences, and Smith’s Gemini Man was a huge, massive bomb. Nobody’s time in the sun can last forever, right?
It’s a bummer, honestly. It’s not that I’m against revisiting old properties. With a new coat of paint, a rusty old flick can shine like the best of ’em. More often than not, however, these follow-ups are nothing more than cash grabs made by studios catering to audience’s ever-increasing demand for content. Independence Day: Resurgence was a victim of nostalgia…and Suicide Squad. Never forget.