Independence Day Resurgence

As the Fourth of July nears, satellite engineer David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) investigates a 3,000-mile-wide mother ship that's approaching Earth. Fortunately, 20 years earlier, nations across the world started to use recovered extraterrestrial technology to develop an immense defense program. When the alien invaders attack with unprecedented force, the U.S. president, teams of scientists and brave fighter pilots spring into action to save the planet from a seemingly invincible enemy.

Twenty years after the events of the previous film, the international community has recovered and the United Nations has created the ESD (Earth Space Defense), a united global defense program that serves as Earth's early warning system. The main defense force uses technology salvaged from the remains of the alien forces, with military forces assembled on the Moon, Mars, and Rhea, while the Area 51 base has become the ESD Headquarters.

In Africa, ESD Director David Levinson meets with Dr. Catherine Marceaux and warlord Dikembe Umbutu, who lead him to an intact alien destroyer. Aboard the ship, they discover that the ship was drilling a hole and that the aliens sent a distress call to its home planet before their defeat. Furthermore, Umbutu and former U.S. President Thomas Whitmore experienced recurring visions of extraterrestrial logograms ever since their personal encounters with the aliens and try to decipher them.

A spherical ship emerges from a wormhole near the ESD's Moon defense headquarters. Levinson is convinced that it belongs to a different extraterrestrial race that is benevolent and urges the world's governments not to attack, but they vote to shoot it down regardless. Against orders, ESD pilot Jake Morrison picks up Levinson, Marceaux, Umbutu, and Floyd Rosenberg on a space tug and they head for the crash site, where they recover a container. An alien mothership 3,000 miles wide suddenly emerges and destroys Earth's planetary defenses before approaching the planet. The space tug is caught in the mothership's artificial gravitational pull, which also lifts structures from most of Asia. The debris falls all across Europe, where the tug manages to escape before heading on to Area 51.

The mothership lands over northern Atlantic Ocean and drills a hole in the middle of the ocean to harvest the heat of the core, which will destroy Earth's magnetic field in the process. The aliens also raid the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, killing President Elizabeth Lanford along with most of her Cabinet. General Joshua Adams, a Cabinet official in Area 51, is named the designated survivor and immediately sworn in as the 46th President.

Upon the space tug's arrival at Area 51, Dr. Brakish Okun awakens twenty years after his coma. He opens the container and releases a giant white sphere of artificial intelligence; its mission is evacuating survivors from worlds targeted by harvesters, and building a resistance force, one already greatly feared by aliens. Whitmore interrogates one of the aliens held in captivity since the last war. The ESD learns that the aliens, while similar to Earth's insect kingdom, are not like locusts as they initially believed but exist in eusociality and that their queen is coming. They believe if they destroy the queen, her attendants will retreat from the planet. An ESD squadron, led by Captain Dylan Dubrow-Hiller, stages a counterattack to destroy the queen, but they are caught in a trap within the mothership which wipes out nearly the entire fleet. Dylan, along with Jake and fellow pilots Charlie Ritter and Rain Lao, manages to escape by hijacking two alien attackers.

Knowing the queen has become aware of its presence, the sphere's A.I. wants the ESD to destroy it to prevent the aliens from learning its secrets. The ESD forces instead hide the sphere in an isolation chamber, and use the space tug with a transmitter copying the sphere's signal as a decoy to lure the queen's warship to a trap filled with nuclear weapons. Against his daughter Patricia's wishes, Whitmore volunteers to pilot the space tug on the suicide mission, leading the warship to the trap and detonates the bombs, sacrificing himself, and destroying the ship. However, the queen survives using an energy shield on her exoskeleton. Patricia personally flies a hybrid fighter that penetrates the queen's shield and she destroys the shield's projector, allowing Dylan's arriving party to kill the queen before she can destroy the sphere. With the queen dead, the mothership stops drilling and retreats from Earth. Okun reveals that the sphere has asked them to lead the resistance, and offered them new technology in preparation for an assault on the aliens' home world.

Liam Hemsworth as Jake Morrison, a U.S. pilot serving as a lieutenant in ESD, Patricia Whitmore's fiancé, and Dylan Dubrow-Hiller's estranged friend and subordinate. He grew up in an orphanage after his parents were killed in the first attack and later joins the military, becoming one of their best fighter pilots.

Jeff Goldblum as David Levinson, a scientist, MIT-educated computer expert, and environmental activist. Formerly a satellite technician at a cable television company in New York City and now in charge of research at Area 51 after Brackish Okun. Whitmore went on to recommend him as Director of ESD, where he provides the United Nations the resources to combat extraterrestrial threats with his subordinates and in the process using his political influence to promote his activism.

Jessie Usher as Dylan Dubrow-Hiller, the son of Jasmine Dubrow-Hillier and stepson of the now-deceased war hero Steven Hiller (Will Smith's character in the previous film), now a pilot and captain in ESD. He replaces Ross Bagley, who played the character as a child in the original film.

Bill Pullman as Thomas J. Whitmore, the 42nd President, widower of Marilyn Whitmore (as seen in the original film), and a Persian Gulf War veteran. Though his presidency has ended, 15 years after his second term, Whitmore remains a significant figure as the result of his role during the first invasion and its aftermath.

Maika Monroe as Patricia Whitmore, the former First Daughter, Jake's fiancée, and Dylan's childhood friend. She also works for her father's successor, Elizabeth Lanford, as one of her aides and speechwriter at the White House. Prior to working for the government, she initially planned to become an ESD pilot after college and had training, and is a skilled aviator. Monroe replaces Mae Whitman, who played the character as a child in the original film. Monroe was selected from a shortlist that included Gabriella Wilde, Merritt Patterson, Britt Robertson and Lucy Boynton.

Sela Ward as Elizabeth Lanford, the 45th President of the United States and the first woman in the country's history to hold the Oval Office, who is in her first term, succeeding Thomas J. Whitmore, William Grey, and Lucas Jacobs. About her character she said, "She's strong, decisive and not afraid to kick ass!" Prior to her presidency, Lanford lost her family during the first attack, and she served as Vice President under Jacobs.

William Fichtner as Joshua Adams, a U.S. General serving in ESD and later the 46th President of the United States.

Judd Hirsch as Julius Levinson, David's father and author of How I Saved The World.

Brent Spiner as Dr. Brakish Okun, the unkempt and highly excitable scientist formerly in charge of research at Area 51 and thus David Levinson's predecessor. He awakens 20 years after being rendered comatose by an alien psychic attack and then works with ESD.

Patrick St. Esprit as Tanner, the United States Secretary of Defense.

Vivica A. Fox as Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller, the widow of the late war hero Steven Hiller, and a former exotic dancer. After her marriage, Jasmine returned to school to study nursing and is now working as a hospital administrator.

Angelababy as Rain Lao, a Chinese pilot and lieutenant in ESD and the niece of ESD Moon Base commander Jiang Lao. Rain’s Chinese name is pronounced Lao Meifeng, who, as a child, first lost her mother after the aliens' first attack and later her father, who was one of the pilots participated the final battle against them in China during the war. She is then being raised by her late-father's brother.

Charlotte Gainsbourg as Dr. Catherine Marceaux, a scientist at ESD who works alongside David; though is trained as a medical doctor, she is researching exolinguistics after witnessing her patients writing logograms after personal encounters with aliens. She is also David's new love interest years after his wife, Constance, died.

Deobia Oparei as Dikembe Umbutu, a Congolese warlord and the leader of a resistance group that has fought the aliens for years.Nicolas Wright as Floyd Rosenberg, an accountant and amateur combatant.Travis Tope as Charlie Ritter, a pilot serving in ESD and Jake's best friend, who is infatuated with Rain.Chin Han as Jiang Lao, commanding officer of the ESD's Moon Base and Rain's uncle. Gbenga Akinnagbe as Agent Matthew Travis, a United States Secret Service agent assigned to Whitmore's protection detail.

Robert Loggia as General William Grey, USMC (Ret.), the 43rd President, who served for one term after Whitmore left office. This is Loggia's final film role before his death in December 2015, and the film was dedicated in his memory.John Storey as Dr. Isaacs, a scientist at Area 51 and Dr. Okun's life partner.Joey King as Sam, the oldest of a group of siblings living in Florida.

Jenna Purdy as the voice of the Sphere, an extraterrestrial artificial intelligence sent to serve as a liaison between Earth and a party of interplanetary refugees who are also victims of the aliens' attacks.

Garrett Wareing, Hays Wellford, and Mckenna Grace as Bobby, Felix, and Daisy, Sam's younger siblings.James A. Woods as Lt. Ritter .Robert Neary as Captain McQuaide

The possibility of a sequel to Independence Day had long been discussed, and the film's producer and writer, Dean Devlin, once stated that the world's reaction to the September 11 attacks influenced him to strongly consider making a sequel to the film. Devlin began writing an outline for a script with Emmerich, but in May 2004, Emmerich said he and Devlin had attempted to "figure out a way how to continue the story", but that this ultimately did not work, and the pair abandoned the idea. In October 2009, Emmerich said he once again had plans for a sequel,and had since considered the idea of making two sequels to form a trilogy. On June 24, 2011, Devlin confirmed that he and Emmerich had found an idea for the sequels and had written a treatment for it. In October 2011, however, discussions for Will Smith returning were halted, due to Fox's refusal to provide the $50 million salary demanded by Smith for the two sequels. Emmerich, however, made assurances that the films would be shot back-to-back, regardless of Smith's involvement. In July 2012, Devlin reiterated that the Independence Day sequel was still in development, and the script would take place in 2012, 16 years after the original film's events.

In March 2013, Emmerich stated that the titles of the new films would be ID Forever Part I and ID Forever Part II.The films will take place twenty years after the original, when reinforcements of the original alien race arrive at Earth after finally receiving a distress call. The new films will focus on the next generation of heroes, including the stepson of Smith's character in the original film. In May 2013, Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin mentioned that wormholes would be used as a plot device in ID Forever.On May 29, 2014, it was announced that the script for the first sequel written by Emmerich and Devlin would be rewritten by Carter Blanchard. On November 26, 2014, Deadline confirmed that Fox had greenlit the single film, and they were in talks with Emmerich to direct the film, while casting was reported to begin after Emmerich's confirmation.The full title, Independence Day: Resurgence, was revealed on June 22, 2015.Returns, Retaliation, Rises, and Requiem were all considered too along with the title before settling with Resurgence.

Early on both, Emmerich and Devlin hoped that Smith would return. However, in June 2013, Emmerich announced that Smith would not be returning, noting that "he's too expensive." Smith later stated that he declined the role due to scheduling conflicts with Suicide Squad, also in production at the time. Smith's absence in the movie is explained as his character, Steven Hiller, who had been promoted as a colonel, died 11 years after the events of the first film when personally testing a new experimental fighter designed with alien technology for the ESD. Later in June, it was officially confirmed that both Goldblum and Pullman would return in the sequel, and that a gay character would be featured.

On January 27, 2015, casting began by Fox offering the lead role to Liam Hemsworth.[36] Charlotte Gainsbourg was in talks to join the film's cast, revealed by THR on March 20, 2015.Newcomer Travis Tope was set on March 25, 2015 to play the role of Charlie. On March 3,2015, director Emmerich confirmed via Twitter that Vivica A. Fox would reprise the role of Jasmine Dubrow, her character from the previous film. The same day, Jessie Usher was added to the cast to portray the role of the stepson of Smith's character. Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman were also set to reprise their roles from the previous film. Maika Monroe signed on to star in the film on April 27, 2015.She would play the daughter of the former President after Mae Whitman, who played the character in the original movie, was not offered a role nor was it discussed with her. Sela Ward's casting as the new President of the United States was confirmed on May 4, 2015.On May 13, 2015, Mckenna Grace also joined the film to play Daisy.On May 19, 2015, Patrick St. Esprit was cast as Secretary of Defense Tanner. On May 29, 2015, William Fichtner was cast as a General, a role that will be larger in the next two films. The casting of Angelababy was announced on Twitter by Emmerich on June 3, 2015.

Filming began on April 20, 2015, and wrapped on August 22, 2015. Filming of additional scenes also took place in early 2016 in Los Angeles. Some scenes were also filmed in West Wendover, Nevada, London, at the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands.The makers of the film refrained from shooting in Saudi Arabia, Israel, or India, as portraying destruction of Mecca or Taj Mahal may have led to protests.

Titan Books published several tie-in books for the film, including novels and comics. The first, an omnibus which collects Stephen Molstad's three Independence Day novels, Silent Zone, War in the Desert, and the novelization of Independence Day, was released on March 19, 2016. The second, Independence Day: Crucible, was written by Greg Keyes. Crucible serves as a prequel to the film and was published on May 24, 2016. A novelization of Independence Day: Resurgence by Alex Irvine followed on June 21 before the film's release. Titan Comics started a six issue comic book mini-series, written by Victor Gischler, with art by Tazio Bettin, which serves as a prequel set between the first and second films, and which began its run on March 23 and ended on June 15.

On December 13, 2015, the first trailer was released by 20th Century Fox. A TV spot was shown during Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016. A commercial for the U.S. Army aired promoting the film by presenting itself as a commercial for the ESD, or Earth Space Defense, a fictional military faction dedicated to defending the Earth against any further alien invasion.

In June 2016, 20th Century Fox's British division collaborated with Manchester United, of which 20th Century Fox is the official film partner, for a commercial featuring Jeff Goldblum and Angelababy, and guest-starring United players Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Ashley Young, Juan Mata and captain Wayne Rooney as fighter pilots.

In Japan, 20th Century Fox collaborated with Sunrise to cross-promote the film with Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. One film poster has the Statue of Liberty replaced with the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam aiming at the alien mothership, while a TV spot features commentary by Gundam Unicorn characters Banagher Links and Full Frontal.

Independence Day: Resurgence premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on June 20, 2016. The film was originally going to be released on July 3, 2015[60] but on November 12, 2013, it was announced that the first sequel had been rescheduled for a July 2016 release.On October 14, 2014, Fox changed the release date to June 24, 2016.It was released in certain formats such as 3D, IMAX 3D and premium large formats.

As of June 26, 2016, Independence Day: Resurgence has grossed $41 million in North America and $99.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $140.5 million. It had a worldwide opening total of $141.7 million and an IMAX total of $15.8 million from 898 IMAX theaters.

In the United States and Canada, Independence Day: Resurgence was released on June 24, 2016 and was projected to gross $45–65 million in its opening weekend.It opened across 4,068 theaters, which includes 3,242 3D locations, 386 IMAX theaters and 450 premium large format. It made $4 million in Thursday night previews from 3,200 theaters, On its opening day, it made $16.8 million, including Thursday previews, compared to the first film's $11.1 million. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $41 million, less than the $50.2 million debut of the original, finishing in second place at the box office, behind Finding Dory ($73 million). IMAX made up $5 million of the film's opening numbers from 365 theaters.

Internationally, the film fared better and was released across 58 countries – 70% of its total marketplace – where it earned a five-day total of $100.1 million on 21,872 screens, which fell more or less in line with its $100–150 million opening projections. It took the number one spot in 40 of those markets. It performed exceptionally well in IMAX, where it recorded the biggest IMAX international opening for Fox, with $10.8 million from 533 IMAX theaters, breaking Deadpool's previous record of $8.05 million the same year.

Its highest international tallies were recorded in China ($37.3 million), South Korea ($7.3 million), the United Kingdom and Ireland ($7.3 million), Mexico ($6.8 million), and Taiwan ($3.7 million).It scored the biggest ever opening for Fox in India with $3.5 million.In United Kingdom and Ireland, it debuted in second place, behind The Secret Life of Pets. Fox also reported "terrific" results across Asia and Latin America, with numerous markets generating the biggest opening weekend ever for a Roland Emmerich film.In China, it recorded the fourth biggest Fox opening and came in second place, behind Now You See Me 2, after a close race between the two. However, it did set the record for the biggest IMAX opening for Fox there, where it took in $6.4 million at 294 IMAX sites, surpassing The Martian.It is expected to earn over $153 million in China, which could eclipse Emmerich's previous biggest film there, 2012 ($68.6 million). The film opens in 11 new markets next weekend, including Spain and Sweden.

Independence Day: Resurgence has received generally negative reviews from critics.On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 34%, based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's undeniably visually impressive, but like its predecessor, Independence Day: Resurgence lacks enough emotional heft to support its end-of-the-world narrative stakes."On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Richard Roeper gave the film one and a half out of four stars, writing, "The Resurgence blueprint calls for a scene in which characters have human, allegedly humorous and/or touching moments; a scene in which characters plot strategy against the aliens; and a big action sequence in which it's often difficult to tell the difference between the good-guy spaceships and the bad-guy spaceships. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat." Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a negative review, saying, "This should be dumb fun. It's just dumb." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 1/5 stars, describing it as a "planet-smashingly boring sci-fi sequel."Dave Palmer of The Reel Deal gave the film 2/10, saying, "The final shot of the film is a set up for another sequel, and I just pray to God aliens come and wipe us out before that day comes."Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club criticized the film as an example of Hollywood's current business model of "preemptive franchising," stating that "The movie's dips into all-out space opera (interstellar travel, more alien species, etc.) are only meant to get the audience pumped for a movie that doesn't yet exist, making the undistinguished climax seem like a skirmish." Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave it 2/5 stars, saying it shows "no signs of intelligent life."

Dan Jolin of Empire gave the film a positive review, saying it was "spectacular as you'd hope from a sequel to the 1996 planet-toaster, and as amusingly cheesy. You'll enjoy yourself enough that you won't even miss Will Smith." Guy Lodge of Variety gave the film a positive review, calling it "a silly but spectacular sequel". Lucy O'Brien of IGN gave the film an 8/10, saying, "a silly, cheesy, spectacle-driven blockbuster with heart, Independence Day: Resurgence is a refreshing antidote to the grim and the serious sentiment we've seen trending in sci-fi flicks of recent years. While its plot is messy and it's stuffed with too many characters, I dare you not to leave the theatre with a guilt-free smile on your face."