Independence Day 2 to Invade the Planet July 2015

Seventeen years in the rumor-mill, hearing the word come down Independence Day 2 is impending for July 3, 2015, the only feeling to arise is intrigue.

"Is this for real?" many are thinking.

It is, alright. Fox made the announcement along with several other moves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and X-Men: Days of Future Past swapped their Memorial Day and late July 2014 dates).

Since Roland Emmerich made a name for himself in CG destruction porn and turning Will Smith into a movie-star along the way, status reports on a follow-up are seemingly an annual tradition. It's not all hit-whoring, Internet nonsense. Fox has wanted the sequel for years. Back when Peter and I ran another movie-news site, we reported how Fox had agreed to Smith's demands in the wake of the Avatar phenomenon. That didn't pan out at the time.

Is it fair to say After Earth is to thank here? Facing the biggest financial failure of his career, and signs of his movie-star days are dwindling, safest thing to do is to grab that Independence Day sequel out of your back pocket. This is pure speculation, mind you. The studio announced the release date and nothing more. But it's hard to imagine it without Smith and now is the perfect time to have another close encounter.

Source: Box Office Mojo