Although most of us remember Will Smith for his days the hysterical leading man who moved in with his Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, what really cemented the actors as a blockbuster star was his role in the 1996 hit Independence Day. Well it seems Smith wasn't exactly keen about the idea of returning for the Roland Emmerich's upcoming sequel to the film (Which is set for a July 4, 2016 release date) because the actor has apparently declined an offer to appear in the film, despite the fact that original stars Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman will be reprising their respective roles.
The reports of Will Smith's choice not to return for the sequel has come to us courtesy of Deadline, who indicate that Smith has decided to pass on Independence Day 2. While initially it had seemed that this would be the case all along, once it was announced that Goldblum and Pullman would be returning, it seemed that there was a glimmer of hope for the return of Smith's Captain Steven Hiller. Though there was always the possibility that the actor could change his mind, director Roland Emmerich had stated himself that Smith would most likely be to costly for the film's budget, and had even revealed that there had been two drafts of the script written; one with Smith's character and one without him.
Emmerich has had the project in production for quite some time now, and has gone on the make popular critically average disaster blockbusters such as The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, and White House Down since Independence Day hit theaters. While the project had seemed to have had lost some steam in the early 2000s, it went on to land a summer 2015 release date (Which has now been moved to 2016) which all but confirmed the film was finally headed into production. While it's still unknown what the plot of the film will be, it will reportedly follow the stepson of Will Smith's character from the original film as the series' new protagonist for ID2 and 3.
There's been speculation that Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) is being considered for the role, but it seems unlikely considering the actors upcoming busy schedule (Including a Rocky spin-off focusing on Apollo Creed's son, a role as Human Torch in Fantastic Four, and a possible part in Star Wars: Episode VII). But with Smith out of the picture now, Emmerich will surely be looking for a new young charismatic up and coming actor to take on the film's lead, so it's likely we'll be hearing a list of actors being considered some time soon, and we'll probably learn whether Jordan really is in contention or not.
Now Deadline not only reported that Smith won't be appearing in the upcoming sequels to Independence Day, but apparently the actor also isn't interested in reprising his role as Agent J in the upcoming Men In Black 4, which is currently being penned by 22 Jump Street co-writer Oren Uziel. The site also reports that Sony plans on rebooting the franchise now, although it's still unknown whether it will just follow a new pair of MIB Agents in the already established universe, or completely remake the first film (The former is more likely). Smith disinterest in returning as J doesn't come as much of surprise considering his return for the third installment was a surprise in it's self as Smith has been quick to declare he doesn't want to become the "sequel guy".
So how do you feel about Will Smith not returning for Men In Black 4 or Independence Day 2? Would you be happy with Michael B. Jordan as the sequel's new lead? Let us know below!
