Independence Day 2 is a Go But Without One of its Major Stars

Do you like seeing huge explosions and the world coming together to defeat space aliens? Than you'll be glad that an Independence Day sequel is on the way.



Fans will remember the original well. Back in 1996 the original blockbuster flick really launched the career of a former rapper and television star--Will Smith--into the stratosphere. Fast forward to 2013 and he is one of the most sought after actors in Hollywood. Attach his name and you almost guarantee a hit.

 That is why he is not going to be in the sequel to the movie that made him. He is too expensive now.

"Will Smith can not come back because he's too expensive," director Rolland Emmerich told the New York Daily News, "but he'd also be too much of a marquee name."

There is no world on whether the studio even approached Smith to see if he would be interested in reviving his character Captain Steven Hiller (who would have to be at least a general if not one of the Joint Chiefs). He is not against sequels, but then again with the movies on his slate he is going to be rather busy. Bad Boys 3, I Am Legend 2, and Hancock 2 are all supposed to be coming out in the near future.

He is due to appear next in Winter's Tale, an adaptation from Mark Helprin's popular fantasy novel.

 Fans do not need to worry. It will not be a whole new slate of characters; at least of the original ones are expected to return including Bill Pullman.

"We have like maybe half of the people that you know would know from the first film (in the script)," Emmerich told the Daily News, "and the other half people who are new."

The long awaited sequel is expected to fly into theaters on July 3, 2015.