We’ve been pretty excited about Independence Day 2 for a while now. First it was the mere existence of the film, then it was the various returning cast members (no, not Will Smith), the new faces, and even the announcement of a new President who has a mighty tough speech to live up to. And all the while, we’ve been enthusiastically pondering names: Independence Day 2 The Extreme? ID4ever? The Second Fourth? Action Fraction? Well, dream no more, because The Hollywood Reporter is here to send those dreams crashing to Earth. (“Welcome to Earth,” it says, while punching you unconscious.) In a live stream with the cast on Monday, director Roland Emmerich revealed the name of the upcoming blockbuster: Independence Day Resurgence.
Emmerich also announced the sequel would take place 20 years after the events of the original film. During that time, humankind has apparently joined forces to “organize a global defense system using alien technology to preempt future invasions,” which, given how the aliens were defeated the first time, probably just consists of a MacBook Air manned by a stoned teenager. “We call it in the film the War of ’96,” Emmerich said, demonstrating the kind of deft creativity for which Hollywood screenwriters are famous. “It’s like a post-World generation that’s unified, and that’s amazing to see a world come together with a common enemy. That’s a resurgence.” He offered no details on what a “post-World generation” consists of, though they probably all bond over the lack of experiencing being on a world, or its attendant gravity.
For his part, Goldblum revealed that his character is now the head of this new security initiative. “Having faced that last challenge, we’re all working in a beautiful way under one [goal]. Borders are no longer relevant in the same way, and that’s a very beautiful idea. We’re working together,” he said, oblivious to the fact that the demolishing of borders and one-world unity is a nightmare Alex Jones has been predicting for years. Hollywood propaganda aside, other actors also shared their roles. Hemsworth “drives a forklift-like ‘moon tug’ for the lunar outpost of the new initiative.” Sela Ward is the President. Maika Monroe is Bill Pullman’s badass fighter-pilot daughter. (No word on how pissed Anna Kendrick still is about that.)
Even Brent Spiner is returning for the movie that will still not be called Twindependence Day. Though Spiner is cagey about whether his character—who supposedly died in the first film—would be returning as, well, someone who’s alive, he did say he’d be just as “manic and excitable” as he was in the first. Watch the title reveal below, and marvel at the sight of words against a starry background.
Independence Day Resurgence will be released June 24, 2016.