“Independence Day 2 & 3” Shot Back-To-Back?

Fifteen years on, “Independence Day” director Roland Emmerich and producer/writer Dean Devlin are finishing up back-to-back sequel scripts to that 1996 alien invasion global hit reports Vulture.

Back in 2009, Fox reportedly started working on structuring a deal to sign Will Smith to return to the role of Captain Stephen Hiller and shoot both films back-to-back, but the studio balked at Smith’s $50 million price tag along with Emmerich’s own hefty salary.

As a result, the various parties retreated and Devlin and Emmerich got to work on getting the scripts right. Now they’re about done and are expected to be delivered to Fox by early to mid-December. The studio is also reportedly willing to make the movies without Smith if necessary.

What’s known about the sequels is that it will be a single story across two films, but still separate enough to be films on their own (ala “Back to the Future 2 & 3”) rather than one long film split in half (ala “Deathly Hallows”).

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