On Sunday, Fox took advantage of its captive football audience to slyly drop the first trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence, which takes place a good two decades after the original story. This trailer arrived as quite a surprise for moviegoers who are used to advance announcements, which are played up with plenty of pomp and circumstance. Certainly, this trailer stands well enough on its own with goosebump-y effects a plenty. We saw many returning faces, but not everyone is back for the newest war against aliens.
Will Smith stands as the most notable missing face from the first film, which helped cement him as a rising action star and professional American hero. Buzzings of unsuccessful salary negotiations may be responsible for his missing status, and the lure of projects like Suicide Squad keep the man busy. While Smith’s absence is a bit of a downer, the spirit of the trailer is kept alive by many factors. Significant cues are taken from the background voiceover of Bill Pullman, whose inspirational presidential speech from the first film cannot be forgotten. Fox did well to include this speech in the current trailer, and here’s the old scene for a refresher.
Obviously, Pullman is back in the saddle again. Likewise, Jeff Goldblum returned to fight the alien invasion with Liam Hemsworth pinch-hitting in the place of Smith. Hemsworth hasn’t yet proven his own box-office clout, but his stoic mannerisms should serve the cast well (although comic relief may need to be found elsewhere). Vivica A. Fox has returned with a spiffed up version of her old character, who is no longer a stripper but a hospital administrator. And surprise! Judd Hirsch appears in the trailer too. The film will also see the return of Brent Spiner, who was so delightful in the first movie that it would have been a cinematic crime to not see him come back (and he may be all the comic relief we need). Joining the cast will be Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Angelababy, William Fichtner, and Sela Ward.
Along with the trailer, Fox has set up an interactive website, Warof1996.com, to detail the past twenty years of humanity’s developments since the original alien attack. These advancements include the building of a Moon base, which is pretty wicked. Of course, none of these measures were enough to stop the new attacks.
In April, Roland Emmerich took to Twitter to celebrate the return of both Pullman and Hirsch, so their highlighted return in this new trailer forecasts their continued importance in the story.
https://twitter.com/rolandemmerich/status/589097082750767104/photo/1
https://twitter.com/rolandemmerich/status/589092391765708800/photo/1
