When it first started to sound likeIndependence Day: Resurgencewas actually happening a few years back, it was believed that it would be shot back-to-back withIndependence Day 3. Throughout pre-production, those plans changed, anddirector Roland Emmerichdecided to focus on one movie. But the plan is still to turn this into a franchise, and the filmmaker definitely knows where he wants to go next. The next sequel will be an Intergalactic affair.
Independence Day: Resurgenceonly just hit theaters yesterday, and it looks like it will lose the number one spot at the box office toFinding Doryin that Pixar movie’s second weekend of release. It might still be a little premature to talk about moreID4sequels. But Roland Emmerich is doing just that. Speaking withEmpire, he had this to sat aboutIndependence Day 3.
“The next one will be an intergalactic journey. It’ll be [set] maybe a year or two later, not 20 years [on]. I want to maintain this group of people, especially the young characters, and Jeff [Goldblum] and Brent [Spiner] will take part in it. It’ll be fun to keep that group together. I imagine them now going in one of these ships they’ve rebuilt into awormhole. I think it’ll be the classic of going into space but it has to be about Earth, and we have a really good idea for that.”
So basically he has an outline of an idea, but not really a story. It’s unclear if the two-part story that was originally planned for the first sequel was whittled down into one movie, or if elements of that initial concept will be retained. At this point,ID3has not been green lit by Fox. But Director Roland Emmerich has made it known in the very recent past that he also has plans forIndependence Day 4. Who knows how long the series can sustain itself. Some think it ran out of gas with this first sequel, which arrives twenty years after the first.
The idea of Intergalactic travel is actually introduced in the new sequel. If you haven’t seenResurgenceyet, there will be some spoilers. Read on with caution. For those that have seen the movie, you know that the sequel introduces a new kind of Alien who is not part of the invading forces but the last being of its kind. This species is so advanced, it can turn itself into purely virtual consciousness. Before this alien’s species was destroyed, it is revealed that they were working with other likeminded aliens from around the universe, who had all gathered on a nearby planet with plans to take out the Earth invaders as part of agalactic Civil War.
The end ofID2finds the invadingQueen Alienand its hive-minded Aliens defeated. It is here Dr. Okun reveals that the orb housing the virtual consciousness extraterrestrial has details on how to make intergalactic travel possible. And we learn that the team of earth scientists and soldiers are going to go ‘kick some alien ass.’ So, yeah, 20th Century Fox definitely has plans for more sequels. But they also had plans for moreFantastic Fourmovies, and we all see how that turned out.
Independence Day 3will likely take our favorite group of survivors to a whole other planet. The new characters played by Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher and Maika Monroe will all be back. As will Jeff Goldblum and Brent Spiner. Now we just have to wait and see ifResurgencemakes enough money to warrant a sequel.
