By Rudie Obias | 7 years ago

In 1996, director Roland Emmerich released the modern science fiction classic Independence Day. The summer blockbuster was the perfect blend of action and sci-fi as only Roland Emmerich could deliver. Since then, Emmerich has released a ton of other action movies, but none of them (well, maybe White House Down) came close to the German-born director’s Independence Day. After 17 years, fans were happy to hear that Emmerich would return to Independence Day for a sequel, but now we’ll all have to wait just a little bit longer to see it.

As reported on Cinema Blend, Twentieth Century Fox has announced that they will delay the release of Independence Day 2 by a full year. Independence Day 2 was originally slated for July 3, 2015, but now the sequel will be released on July 1, 2016. While it’s upsetting to hear that we’re going to have to wait a full year to watch Independence Day 2, the new release date is actually more fitting since the film will now open on the 20th anniversary of the original.

It’s actually not surprising that ID2 is shifting to 2016. Emmerich even foreshadowed the possibility of a delay when he mentioned that the 2015 release date was nothing more than a placeholder. “You have to set a release date otherwise another film moves into it,” said Emmerich. Paramount Pictures had even caught wind of Twentieth Century Fox’s decision to delay the film and pushed the released date of Terminator 5 from late June 2015 to early July. The rival movie studio somehow knew Independence Day 2 wouldn’t be ready for its 2015 release date, so they took a chance and pushed the release of their new franchise reboot.

Fox also pushed the release dates of the Fantastic Four reboot and the Assassin’s Creed film adaptation. The movie studio seems to be the only major player who is re-working their film release schedule to optimize profits during the bloated 2015 summer movie season.

Currently, writer James Vanderbilt (White House Down, Zodiac) is writing the screenplay for Independence Day 2 with Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. It’s believed that the story will take place 20 years after the events of the first film (which seems more fitting with it now opening on the film’s 20th anniversary), and will feature the aliens returning to Earth for revenge. This time around, though, the humans are ready with new weapons based on reverse-engineered alien technology.

Actor Michael B. Jordan is rumored to be up for a starring role in the Independence Day sequel. It’s believed he would play an adult version of Captain Steven Hiller’s (Will Smith) stepson Dylan. Jordan has had a breakthrough year in 2013 with his incredible performance in the film Fruitvale Station. He is also rumored to be up for a role in Star Wars: Episode VII, which will be now released on December 18, 2015.

Will Smith is not expected to return for Independence Day 2. Roland Emmerich has revealed that there are currently two versions of the Independence Day 2 script: one featuring Will Smith’s character and one without. While Smith’s status with the film is still up in the air, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum are expected to reprise their roles as former President Thomas J. Whitmore and David Levinson, respectively.

Independence Day 2 will now hit theaters everywhere on July 1, 2016, in 3D.