Director Roland Emmerich expressed regrets over his decision to move forward with Independence Day: Resurgence after Will Smith left to work on Suicide Squad.
Twenty years after Independence Day debuted in theaters to box office success, director Roland Emmerich returned to co-write and helm a sequel that was intended to launch a series of films. However, Independence Day: Resurgence disappointed at the box office and received negative reviews from critics, with many moviegoers missing the presence of Will Smith’s Captain Steven Hiller.
During an interview Yahoo, Roland Emmerich discussed how Will Smith had initially been on board for the Independence Day sequel before opting to work on David Ayer’s Suicide Squad instead. While the Independence Day sequel moved forward without Will Smith, Roland Emmerich admitted that he should have stopped making the film after Smith left for Suicide Squad instead of hastily writing a script to account for his character’s absence:
“Well, that was a little bit more complicated because I just wanted to make a movie exactly like the first, but then in the middle of production Will (Smith) opted out because he wanted to do Suicide Squad. I should have stopped making the movie because we had a much better script. After I had to, really fast, cobble another script together. And I should have just said ‘no,’ because all of a sudden I was making something I criticized myself, a sequel. Life sometimes happens a certain way .. .but I’ve always been into American movies and I never could understand anything else.”
Would you have preferred to see the Independence Day: Resurgence team wait for Will Smith to finish Suicide Squad or stop the sequel all together? What did you think of Independence Day: Resurgence? Do you prefer the first Independence Day? Let us know your thoughts on Independence Day 2 below!
Will Smith portrayed Deadshot in Suicide Squad, but the film debuted to mixed reviews despite box office success. Warner Bros. opted to move forward with a new take the Suicide Squad from director James Gunn and Idris Elba had reportedly been cast to replace Will Smith as Deadshot. However, the filmmakers decided to cast Idris Elba in a different role to give Will Smith the option of returning in the future.
Written and directed by James Gunn, The Suicide Squad stars David Dastmalchian, John Cena, Jai Courtney, Joaquín Cosío, Nathan Fillion, Joel Kinnaman, Mayling Ng, Flula Borg, Sean Gunn, Juan Diego Botto, Storm Reid, Pete Davidson, Taika Waititi, Alice Braga, Steve Agee, Tinashe Kajese, Daniela Melchior, Peter Capaldi, Julio Ruiz, Jennifer Holland, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, and Michael Rooker.
The Suicide Squad will be released in theaters on August 6, 2021.
Source: Yahoo!
