Vivica A. Fox; Will Smith in Independence Day (1996).Photo:Amy Sussman/Getty; 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Amy Sussman/Getty; 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Vivica A. Foxthought theIndependence Daysequel was lacking withoutWill Smith.
Fox reprised her role of Jasmine Hiller in 2016’sIndependence Day: Resurgence, 20 years after the hit 1996 original film.
While director Roland Emmerich and several other cast members returned (Bill Pullman,Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner were all back), Smith did not reprise his role as Capt. Steven Hiller.
“We had most of the original cast on, but I think the one true link that was missing to the success ofIndependence Day 2was that Will Smith wasn’t there,” she continued.
“And I’m gonna tell you — I’m gonna keep it real — I was at the premiere and I was like … ‘Let’s see how the fans are gonna feel about this.’ And, sure enough, on Twitter they blew me up!” said Fox.
Will Smith, Bagley Ross and Vivica A. Fox in Independence Day (1996).Claudette Barius/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Claudette Barius/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
Independence Day: Resurgencealso starred Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe and Jessie T. Usher, who played the son of Smith’s Steven Hiller.
In February 2022, director Emmerichtold The Wrapthat they rewrote the script for the sequel in two weeks after Smith dropped out of the project.
“I’m proud ofIndependence Day: Resurgence, but we had one problem: Will Smith decided while we were preparing to drop out. That was a huge, huge blow to me," he said. “At that point I had to decide should I keep going or not? I realized we had spent $10 or 12 million, and you don’t drop out easily.”
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Vivica A. Fox in Independence Day: Resurgence (2016).Claudette Barius/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock
“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 doSuicide Squad.I should have stopped making the movie because we had a much better script,” said Emmerich, also known for movies like2012,The Day After TomorrowandWhite House Down.
“After I had to, really fast, cobble another script together. And I should have just said no, because all of a sudden I was making something I criticized myself, a sequel,” he said.
source: people.com
