Will Smith not returning for 'Independence Day 2'

Credit: 20th Century Fox

Although the first of the two upcoming sequels to Independence Day has received its release date, it will be moving forward without the original film's biggest star.

AV Club reports that Independence Day 2, scheduled for release on July 3, 2015, will not feature Will Smith reprising the lead role. The reason? It would cost too much money to bring him in.

“Will Smith cannot come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name. It would be too much,” director Roland Emmerich said, in an interview with New York Daily News.

Of course, this is somewhat expected, if only because Emmerich had previously gone on record as saying that the script for the sequel would focus on “the sons taking over”. Maybe they can afford Jaden? Although given how poorly After Earth fared at the box office, it wouldn't surprise me to see Emmerich take the series in a completely different direction, away from the Will Smith-tinted nostalgia goggles.