Independence Day 2 and 3 but no Will Smith

: 04 November 2011; John Howell

smith_will_no It was back in May 2010 that we first mentioned the Independence Day sequels, so it's great to hear they are now actually getting closer to the shooting stage. Independance Day was directed by Roland Emmerich and he is onboard to direct the sequels too. Latest reports suggest Independence Day 2 and 3 are moving into production, but it appears unlikely Will Smith will star after asking for a huge salary.

Movieweb reports that Will Smith asked for a ridiculous $50 million acting fee to shoot both sequels back to back and Fox declined.

I know actors get paid a lot (as it takes years of intensive study and training to become an actor), but this sounds completely over the top to me. Surely $1 million would be enough for anyone? Anything over that amount is insane. It's not as if he'll spend months on set being tortured, or has to get a leg amputated or something. We are only talking about 6 months work for God's sake, not a decade. Anyway, I digress.

Apparently both Independence Day films will tell a single story and are being developed much like Back to the Future Part II and Back To The Future Part III, which were shot simultaneously.

The original Independence Day with its silly virus ending (don't get me started) was released in 1996 and apart from Will Smith, stars Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Robert Loggia, Randy Quaid, Margaret Colin.

Will Smith's next film is M. Night Shyamalan's science fiction story One Thousand A.E. with his son, Jaden Smith (God I hope this one is better than Shyamalan's last three films). I guess it's still possible that he'll sign up for the lead role in the new Independence Day films, but if there's any truth to this report, it's looking unlikely. Still, it's good to know the films are edging closer.

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