It’s looking very doubtful that Will Smith will be welcoming any extraterrestrials back to Earth in INDEPENDENCE DAY 2, after the director, Roland Emmerich, deemed the star “too expensive”. INDEPENDENCE DAY was Smith’s mega break-out film after 6 years of his sitcom THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR. He’d received some exposure and critical acclaim based on his roles in SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION and BAD BOYS, but the destructive alien sci-fi film was the one that blew us all away. But as the years went by, Smith’s star rose and as such he seems to have outdone himself a role. However, not all is lost, as Emmerich did say about half the cast will be returning from the original.
Speaking to the NY Daily News, Emmerich had this to say:
Will Smith cannot come back because he’s too expensive, but he’d also be too much of a marquee name. It would be too much. We have like maybe half of the people that you would know from the first film and the other half are people who are new.
The original film came at a time when Smith’s name wouldn’t have sold a film. It was the visuals of huge spaceships destroying The White House that put bums in seats. Besides, after the crushing disappointment that was AFTER EARTH, price and marquee name may not be the only reason to keep Smith away from the genre/
Source: NY Daily Times
