Ever since
Independence Day owned the summer box office in 1996 fans of the film have been wondering when a sequel might happen, and today,
Deadline reports that 20th Century Fox has finally given the green light to
Independence Day 2. The studio still has to hash out the details before director Roland Emmerich is officially onboard, but that's probably just a formality. Production on the sequel will begin in
May. It'll give the film a good shot of making its pre-announced
June 24, 2016 release date, which will also mark the 20th anniversary of the original film.
An inside source has told
Deadline that
Fox only gave a green light for a single film. That may surprise some as Emmerich has previously mentioned doing a trilogy and shooting two films back-to-back. The screenplay was written by Carter Blanchard, Roland Emmerich, Dean Devlin, and screenwriter James Vanderbilt provided the final polish.
Over the past few years, interest in the sequel has picked up steam as director Roland Emmerich has been teasing the potential storylines. In September of 2013, Emmerich told Empire, "
It’s a parallel history. Humans rebuild whatever they have – bigger, newer, shinier – and then they forget. Maybe, 20 years later, [the aliens are] never coming back…"
Independence Day (1996) - One of the biggest box office hits of all time delivers the ultimate encounter when mysterious and powerful aliens launch an all-out invasion against the human race. The spectacle begins when massive spaceships appear in Earth's skies. But wonder turns to terror as the ships blast destructive beams of fire down on cities all over the planet. Now the world's only hope lies with a determinded band of survivors, uniting for one last strike against the invaders - before it's the end of all mankind.