As tepid and forgettable as it is, its great to see Roland Emmerich back in the realm of science fiction action with Independence Day: Resurgence. It's the sole genre where the director shows some modicum of unique talent as a creator of operatic destruction, though he's never quite as brash, stylish, and weird as Michael Bay's similarly explosive projects. And where Bay revealed a rowdy artist living beneath the formulaic, story-heavy nonsense when he released the excellent Pain & Gain, Emmerich's attempt to reach beyond spectacle - such as with Anonymous and Stonewall - have proven to be unintentionally hilarious at best, and excruciating more times than not.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

When he gets the right play-set to wreck, however, he at least shows a clear sense of awe at the visual wonderment of grand CGI creations and fiery chaos. That's why it's good news to hear today that, according to EW, Emmerich will next be pairing with Universal for the science fiction project Moonfall, which sounds a little too much like another James Bond film set in space. The story is said to center on a group of misfits who are called in to save the world when the moon falls out of orbit and is set on a collision course with Earth. So, wait, is this Roland Emmerich's version of Melancholia? If so, I'm definitely in, just to see what such an odd concept would look like when all is said and done.


The script was co-written by Emmerich, alongside Harold Kloser and Spencer Cohen; Kloser, who often scores Emmerich's films, also co-scripted White House Down for the writer-director-producer. The film is being described as a mix between 2012 (oh no!) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (yes!), but seeing as this is Emmerich, I would be looking towards 2012 more for a sense of how this will all look when production has wrapped. For now, we'll just have to wait on word about casting, as well as just exactly how well Independence Day: Resurgence is going to do over the next few weeks.

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Image via 20th Century Fox
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Image via Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images