Last we heard of that Independence Day sequel, about six months ago, Carter Blanchard was being brought in to pen a new draft of the script while director Roland Emmerich was busy shooting Stonewall.  I guess 20th Century Fox liked what Blanchard turned in because it’s being reported that the studio has green lit the film.

Apparently the next step is to close Emmerich’s directing deal and then the film will be heading towards a May production start date.  Hit the jump for more on what Fox has planned for the much-anticipated sequel.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

As reported by Deadline, Fox will begin casting immediately after Emmerich signs on the dotted line.  The outlet also reiterates previous reports noting that Will Smith will not be part of the new film.

It’s been 18 years since Independence Day hit theaters.  Even though the film’s got that June 24, 2016 release date and now has a green light to go along with it, I’m still apprehensive about getting ahead of myself with this one.  It’s taken so long to get things moving; who knows what could come up between now and May?

And then of course there’s the issue of story.  Emmerich once discussed some details and highlighted that the new film will take place 20 years after the events of the first, but that was well over a year ago now.  Things certainly could have changed.  Perhaps it isn’t fair to judge with so little concrete information, but even as someone who’s eager to see Independence Day become a series, I have a tough time imagining them coming up with a logical next chapter that also reflects what we love so much about the 1996 original.

If the film really does go into production in May, we’ll likely start hearing about casting in the near future and hopefully those will reports will bring in some promising plot details.

It’s also worth noting that Fox only gave the go-ahead to one Independence Day sequel, not two.  Does that mean the studio is ditching the plan to make two new Independence Day movies?  Absolutely not.  Sure, we were calling them ID Forever Part 1 and ID Forever Part 2, and it seems as though shooting part 1 and part 2 movies back-to-back is a growing trend, but perhaps the studio is playing it safe and seeing how film #1 pans out before committing to a second.