The livestream for Independence Day Live just wrapped, and we learned a few things about Independence Day 2. The top of the list is that the official title is Independence Day: Resurgence. Who’s doing the re-surging? Is it the humans? The aliens? The 90s? I’m going to go with the 90s. The 90s are surging right now, and it needs to be stopped.
We also learned 12 things about the film:
- The events of the movie are called the “War of 1996”, and director Roland Emmerich that part of this movie will be about a post-war generation.
- The livestream event took place on a set that’s a moon base. We got a glimpse of a Human Hybrid Fighter Jet and a moon tug. This technology came from the aliens. “We can’t build alien technology,” says Emmerich, “but we can harvest it.”
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Image via 20th Century Fox
Emmerich originally didn’t want to return for a sequel, but after working on 2012, he was lured back by the prospect of what they could do with the technology.
- The movie takes place in 2016, and David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) is now the director of Earth Space Defense, which is in charge of protecting the Earth (the name is not misleading). Additionally, this group works across border as countries have united against a common threat.
- Dr. Okun (Brent Spiner) is alive and just as manic and excitable as he was before. He also has a new wig that’s even longer.
- Sela Ward plays President Lanford. She’s more aggressive than President Whitmore (Bill Pullman, who didn't specify how his character factors into the sequel). She’s more willing to use force, and Earth has been preparing for an invasion for 20 years. “There’s a very different climate in terms of the tenor of the movie.”
- Patricia Whitmore (Maika Monroe) is now a special agent of some kind (Monroe said she was kind of like a Secret Service agent), but wouldn’t reveal any more details. In addition to working for Lanford, she also has to deal with having a famous father and growing up in the public eye.
- Jesse Usher plays Dylan Hiller, the son of Will Smith’s character, Steven Hiller. Usher says his performance was partially influenced by Smith’s, and that Dylan, like Patricia, has also grown up in the shadow of a father who helped saved the world.
- Angelbaby plays Rain, an orphan who grew up to become a fighter pilot.
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Image via 20th Century Fox
Liam Hemsworth’s character, Jake Morrison, is also an orphan who grew up to become a fighter pilot. However, Jake made some kind of mistake, and now he’s been exiled to work on the moon base and operate a Moon Tug (image: right), which is basically a forklift.
- Jasmine, “is no longer working the pole,” says Vivica A. Fox. “She’s no longer a stripper with a heart of gold.” Jasmine now works as a hospital administrator, and continues to support her son and his choices.
- Judd Hirsch (Julius Levinson) wanted the father-son relationship to be strong no matter where he and David were. His arc in the movie is to get to David.
So there’s a brief glimpse of Independence Day: Resurgence. Perri is currently on the set, so whenever her embargo lifts (presumably next year), we’ll know more about the movie. In the meantime, she was able to take some photos and you can check them out here along with a couple officially released by Fox.
Also, while this quote doesn’t tell us anything about the movie, I loved what Spiner had to say about returning for the sequel:
“It’s like swimming in a rainbow with a thousand naked cherubs.”
I had to save that for posterity.
Independence Day: Resurgence opens June 24, 2016.
Here’s the official synopsis:
We always knew they were coming back. After INDEPENDENCE DAY redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.
