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Roland Emmerich's 1996 blockbuster "Independence Day" wasn't incredibly well-reviewed when it was first released, with many critics citing its overblown melodrama, bad script, and clunky plotting as central flaws. Some also felt that the admittedly impressive visual effects were being wielded as a means to cover up how weak the alien invasion story was. Regardless, audiences showed up in droves and made "Independence Day" the highest-grossing film of the year; it cost a hefty $75 million to make, but raked in over $817 million worldwide. It was a legitimate phenomenon.

Between those who are fond of the film, and those who tend to sniff at it, a few things can be widely agreed upon. Firstly, yes, the film is quite silly and pointedly jingoistic, using an alien invasion as an excuse to repeat All-American platitudes. Secondly, it's exhilarating when the alien invaders blow up the White House. And thirdly, the cast is impressive,...

Vivica A. Fox is getting real about the Independence Day sequel she starred in and expressing how she really felt about the film.

Fox played Jasmine Hiller, wife of Will Smith’s character Captain Steven Hiller, in the 1996 film directed by Roland Emmerich. The star went on to reprise her role in Independence Day: Resurgence in 2016, but this time without Smith by her side, which she felt was a factor in the movie not living up to the box office results of the original.

“I just didn’t feel like it was good and lived up to the first one,” Fox said in an interview with The A.V. Club. “I really feel we missed out by not bringing Will Smith [back].”

She continued, “We got most of the original cast but I think the one true link that was missing to the success of Independence Day 2 was that we...

Unflinchingly candid as ever, Vivica A. Fox recently made her views clear about why the 2016 sequel to the iconic “Independence Day” fell short of the first: it lacked the irresistible charisma of Will Smith. While discussing her true-crime series “The Interrogation Room” with A.V. Club, Fox dived into the perceived failings of “Independence Day: Resurgence.”

Related: Will Smith Movies List: Top 10 Best Ranked

“I just didn’t feel like it was good and lived up to the first one,” she expressed, voicing her belief that the absence of Smith, who portrayed her on-screen husband and ace pilot Steven Hiller in the original movie, heavily impacted the sequel’s performance and audience reception. Unfortunately, negotiations for Smith to return for the sequel and a third film broke down due to salary disputes.

Roland Emmerich returned as the director for the sequel, which he co-wrote with Dean Devlin. The narrative jumped forward...

In true Vivica A. Fox fashion, she’s keeping it real when it comes to why she believes 2016’s “Independence Day: Resurgence” wasn’t the success it could’ve been: It needed Will Smith.

“I just didn’t feel like it was good and lived up to the first one,” Fox told A.V. Club while promoting her true-crime series “The Interrogation Room.” “I really feel we missed out… by not bringing Will Smith back.”

Will Smith was in talks to return for “Independence Day: Resurgence” (and a third film that was planned at the time) but negotiations fell apart over Smith’s salary.

With Roland Emmerich directing and cowriting the script with Dean Devlin, the sequel took place 20 years after the first. In that time, Smith’s character, Steven Hiller, had died and returning and new characters now had to protect Earth from a new threat.

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Oh come on, you knew it was coming. Despite being a film that made just about every possible misstep they could take, had actually managed to accomplish something very few films do. Because did you know that today’s film actually won an Academy Award? Well that ‘aint the half of it’ as we’ve got gifted rodents, a trailer the world wasn’t supposed to see, and so much licensed music it’ll make your head spin. All on top of a script that was written in just 6 weeks! Today we’re talking about David Ayer’s…or well…maybe we shouldn’t identify it as that since he’s been pretty adamant that this isn’t his cut so…today on DC Revisited we’re covering Warner Brother’s Suicide Squad.

One key thing to remember when looking at the development of Suicide Squad, is that Warner still...

Tupac Shakur's socially conscious poetry and fiery, political lyrics are forever cemented in music history, but the legendary rapper also had a burgeoning career in acting. Upon the time of his tragic murder in September 1996, Tupac was becoming all the more prolific as a performer, his filmography growing even after his death. What's more, there was a chance that, eventually, audiences would have seen the rapper/actor pop up in big-budget movies like the "Star Wars" prequels, in which George Lucas may have cast him as Mace Windu.

Tupac was always involved in the world of the stage ever since his childhood days at the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he acted in Shakespeare productions that would influence his depictions of gang conflicts. The artist's breakout lead role was in the 1992 crime drama "Juice," in which future Mace Windu actor Samuel L. Jackson also appeared in. Besides this,...

Get ready for a trip down memory lane as we take a look at the career of one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, Will Smith. From the streets of West Philadelphia to the bright lights of Hollywood, he has proven to be a versatile and talented actor, with a diverse range of films on his Will Smith movies list.

In this article, we’ll be ranking Will Smith’s top 10 best movies based on their reception and his performances. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or just discovering Will Smith’s work, this guide is for you. So, grab some popcorn, and let’s dive into the Will Smith movies list and discover the best movies of his career.

Top 10 Grossing Will Smith Movies

Will Smith is one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars and it’s no surprise that many of his movies have grossed big numbers at the box office.

A quarter-century ago, Will Smith’s Capt. Steven Hiller was “a little anxious to get up there and whoop Et’s ass” and save Earth from alien invaders in Independence Day. In 2021, the actor paid it forward in a less-dramatic but equally cool way: He paid a reported $100,000 to save New Orleans’ Fourth of July fireworks display.

The city’s annual municipal display had been in jeopardy because of a lack of funds, and — after having to cancel amid the pandemic in 2020 — the outlook was bleak that it would return this year.

Mayor Latoya Cantrell called out Smith’s gesture in a tweet today, saying: “A fireworks display produced by ‘Go 4th on the River’ will take place in New Orleans along the Mississippi Riverfront at 9pm Sunday, July 4, 2021. The gift of city fireworks was made possible by actor and producer Will Smith, along with his company Westbrook.

A fireworks...

Some people like “Independence Day” for its campy take on “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”; or for its technical achievements, which won an Oscar and set director Roland Emmerich on the path for becoming the disaster director du jour; or for establishing Will Smith as the “King of the Fourth of July.”

Other people — like me — watch the movie religiously every time the Fourth of July rolls around. Let’s face it, when Smith’s Capt. Steven Hiller promises his step-son Dylan (Ross Bagley) fireworks, and you get them in the form of alien vessels crashing to the ground after a high-flying intergalactic space battle, why bother leaving the house to deal with traffic for your local fireworks show? And as Patricia (the positively perfect Mae Whitman) says “Happy Fourth of July, Daddy,” to President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman), I dare you not to feel something. Strong father figures and alien-war heroes?...

"Oh no! You did not shoot that green shit at me!"

This fan-made mashup video Independence Day: A Star Wars Story does a great job of editing together a scene in which we see Will Smith's Captain Steven Hiller and Jeff Goldblum's David Levinson being pursued by Darth Vader and a couple other Tie Fighter goons as they embark on a mission to destroy the Death Star. This is one of the best movie mashups that I've seen in a long time and I'm sure you'll all enjoy it!

It’s fairly amazing that it took five men — Nicolas Wright, James A. Woods, Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich, James Vanderbilt – to conceive the story and pen the script to Independence Day: Resurgence when it trod no new ground and felt like the worst rehash of the original film and many other Sf flicks from the preceding twenty years.

The original ID4 was an unassuming popcorn thriller with implausible science and predictable actions but leavened with strong performances and quirky, fun characters. They were having fun fighting the alien invaders and we had memorable lines and Will Smith punching out an alien with “Welcome to Earth”.

Somehow, these five, including Devlin and Emmerich who gave us the first, left out the fun. Instead, for two hours we see a mix of familiar and unfamiliar figures watch an even larger alien ship arrive, intent on destroying Earth either as an act of...

On July 2nd, they arrive. On July 3rd, they strike. On July 4th, we fight back. On June 24th, 2016, we…wish they had won.

In the summer of 1996, Roland Emmerich’s “Independence Day” reinvented the alien invasion genre for the blockbuster era, using newfangled digital technology to make a B-movie big enough to bring the whole world together. Its reputation may be overinflated by millennials who subsist on a steady diet of their own petrified kitsch, but Emmerich’s war of the worlds has nevertheless come to represent a type of full-bodied studio spectacle for which we all ought to be nostalgic. In fact, the self-described “master of disaster” seems really pissed at the people who aren’t. His lazy insult of a sequel — threatened since the day the first movie first cast its long shadow over America’s multiplexes — is ultimately nothing more than a giant middle finger to...

Ever wondered what life was like in the Hemsworth household when actor brothers Luke, Chris and Liam were growing up? Turns out, it was pretty "vicious." "Our childhood rivalry was a bit vicious - a bit like The Hunger Games, actually," Liam jokes on Friday's episode of The Graham Norton Show. In fact, the battles between the boys would get so serious they would find themselves reaching for weapons. "We had a few incidents with weapons - I never had any problems with Luke because he was so much older and I didn't mess with him." he explains. "But with Chris,...

Ever wondered what life was like in the Hemsworth household when actor brothers Luke, Chris and Liam were growing up? Turns out, it was pretty "vicious." "Our childhood rivalry was a bit vicious - a bit like The Hunger Games, actually," Liam jokes on Friday's episode of The Graham Norton Show. In fact, the battles between the boys would get so serious they would find themselves reaching for weapons. "We had a few incidents with weapons - I never had any problems with Luke because he was so much older and I didn't mess with him." he explains. "But with Chris,...

The aliens are coming, the aliens are coming! After twenty years of relative peace, the aliens that terrorized Earth back in 1996 have returned to seek vengeance against the men and women that stopped them the last time around. The Earth will look to a new generation of heroes to follow in the footsteps of Will Smith's Captain Steven Hiller and Jeff Goldblum's David Levinson, who unlike his partner-in-crime is back for another go-round. In addition to Goldblum, Bill Pullman, who plays the former President of the United States, and Judd Hirsch, who plays Levinson's father, are also back. They'll be joined by LIam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, and Sela Ward. Check out the four new stills below along with Empire's cool subscriber's cover: Plus, here's a new TV spot:    We always knew they were coming back. After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic...

Roland Emmerich’s newfound United Global Defense Unit flaunts its alien arsenal in today’s new TV spot and featurettes for Independence Day: Resurgence.

Set to loom over theaters in little over a month’s time, the director’s long-in-development sequel has spent much of its marketing campaign paying respect to the War of 1996, and particularly those brave men and women who took the fight to the invading menace.

One pilot that’s naturally been thrust into the center of attention is Will Smith’s fallen Steven Hiller, who died in the intervening years between ’96 and the imminent alien Resurgence while testing alien weaponry. That’s something that’s also highlighted in the featurettes below, including the slick Space Tug to be piloted by franchise newcomer, Liam Hemsworth.

Rounding out the cast of old faces and new are Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg,...

Twenty years ago, when the skies cleared and the governments of the world pulled together to rebuild those famous monuments from the ashes, humanity set aside civil conflicts in the face of a common – and frankly terrifying – enemy.

United by the rousing words of Bill Pullman’s President Whitmore, The War of 1996 left a profound mark on the history books, and in anticipation of this year’s long-in-development sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, a new viral clip documents that global conflict and its devastating fallout.

Spurred by the United Global Defense Unit, by the time Idr rolls around humanity is equipped with advanced weaponry made possible by the alien tech leftover from the failed invasion of ’96. But as the synopsis reads, “we always knew they were coming back.” Only this time, they’ve brought the intergalactic cavalry.

Leading the charge against mass extinction are Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher – the stepson...

What better way to ring in Earth Day with global annihilation? Taking full advantage of our annual celebration of all things Terra, 20th Century Fox has premiered the second action-packed trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence and, yes, director Roland Emmerich rains down alien destruction across just about every famous monument on the planet.

In it, we see the Earth Space Defence (Esd) force – headlined by Liam Hemsworth’s cocksure newcomer and the returning Jeff Goldblum – scrambling to respond to the extraterrestrial menace. Much of that galactic defence system was formed in the ashes of the War of 1996, when Emmerich’s original blockbuster helped usher in the summer event film, though as today’s sizzle reel attests, such amplified protocols pale in comparison to the alien vengeance.

Back in the shoes of the former President of the United States – and hopefully to dish out another spirited call to arms – is Bill Pullman,...

Aliens return to Earth to finish some unfinished civilization-erasing business in Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to the 1996 blockbuster film. After previous previews have teased the film's 20-years-later plot and immense destruction, the latest trailer for the upcoming film provides some more background into what's happened in the two decades since the aliens first attacked.

In the sequel, actress Maika Monroe plays the daughter of Bill Pullman's former President Whitmore, while Liam Hemsworth plays her love interest and fellow pilot Jake Morrison. The trailer also devotes plenty of screen...

We had twenty long years to prepare for the arrival of Independence Day: Resurgence, and though at times it seemed Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi sequel would never materialize – remember when Fox pitched plans for two full sequels? – an ominous new poster reminds us that those pesky aliens are coming back to tear the Earth asunder.

It’s a similar one-sheet to the 1996 original, only this time ramping up the scale to a global level, as opposed to the by-now iconic shot of the alien ship blowing the White House to kingdom come. Indeed if the original Independence Day proved a defining milemarker for the modern-day event movie, Emmerich is aiming for the stars with Resurgence – quite literally.

Having established a base of operations on the moon, humanity is now armed with the remnants of alien technology left over from the War of 1996. Advanced firepower is all well and good, but...

Two full decades after the War of 1996, Earth is under fire once more. Roland Emmerich is back at the helm for Independence Day: Resurgence and going by today’s hellish teaser image, the director hasn’t lost his aptitude for full-blown global destruction.

Arriving by way of Empire, the still is essentially a high-res screengrab from the sequel’s Super Bowl trailer, showcasing that alien technology has come an awful long way in twenty Earth years. Whereas Emmerich’s blockbuster original rained destruction down on the planet’s more prominent landmarks, Resurgence will literally blow entire cityscapes sky-high, and it looks as though the Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world – has been relocated to London.

Fending off the new invasion are Liam Hemsworth’s newcomer and Jessie Usher, with the latter on board to play the role of Will Smith’s stepson. Indeed, the actor’s...

Along with Maika Monroe as the daughter of President Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and Jessie Usher as the son of Steven Hiller (Will Smith) and Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox) in Independence Day: Resurgence, one of the other new, young cast members on the scene is Liam Hemsworth. Like Monroe and Usher revealed in our interview with them, Hemsworth […]

The post ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’: Liam Hemsworth Was Orphaned by Aliens [Interview] appeared first on /Film.

While most of the gang is getting back together for the long-awaited sequel to Independence Day, one star who will not be making his return is Will Smith. Not only will his character of Captain Steven Hiller not be seen in the movie, Roland Emmerich has already gone and killed the character off screen, meaning that we won’t see him in any other sequels, either. Now Will Smith has opened up about the decision to not reprise his role. It turns out it wasn’t that he didn’t want to be in the movie, but rather that he just didn’t have the time. Will Smith sat down for an interview with BBC Radio One and was asked about the upcoming Independence Day: Resurgence. He told host A.Dot that his decision to not return had nothing to do with any lack of interest, ...

The clothes sure do make the man. Feast your eyes upon a new photo of Liam Hemsworth looking battle-ready and very handsome in his flight suit from Independence Day: Resurgence. "I felt pretty good," Hemsworth, 26, tells People of the first time he put on the costume made from Italian fabric. "It had a sheen to it and almost an oiliness. They are really tight when you first put them on, but once they warm up they stretch out." As a fan of the original 1996 film, Hemsworth jumped at the chance to be involved in the sequel, especially when he learned...

The clothes sure do make the man. Feast your eyes upon a new photo of Liam Hemsworth looking battle-ready and very handsome in his flight suit from Independence Day: Resurgence. "I felt pretty good," Hemsworth, 26, tells People of the first time he put on the costume made from Italian fabric. "It had a sheen to it and almost an oiliness. They are really tight when you first put them on, but once they warm up they stretch out." As a fan of the original 1996 film, Hemsworth jumped at the chance to be involved in the sequel, especially when he learned...

Who else just had their mind blown by the Independence Day: Resurgence Super Bowl trailer? Like, bai. Liam Hemsworth can do no wrong in our eyes. Le sigh. The film is a sequel to the '90s classic, which featured Will Smith as Captain Steven Hiller. Tearfully, we have to inform you that Smith will not be reprising his role in Resurgence. Sob! However, we're stoked to see Jeff Goldblum back in action. The film comes out June 24 and from the looks of that fiery trailer, we're about to see some crazy shiz go down. Can you believe it's been exactly 10 flippin' years since the original came out? The action-adventure film also stars Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Maika Monroe, Jessie Usher, William...

We always knew they’d come back. Exactly two decades after Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith sent the extra-terrestrials packing, earning a celebratory cigar in the process, those aggrieved aliens are returning. That’s right, director Roland Emmerich is primed to lay siege to Earth’s prominent landmarks once again when Independence Day: Resurgence looms over theaters in June.

In anticipation of the sequel’s long-awaited arrival, which has more to do with production setbacks and less with the scientific realities of space-travelling across lightyears, 20th Century Fox has premiered the film’s latest TV spot during the Super Bowl, offering budding fans a much more comprehensive look at the story.

Granted, it’s one that Will Smith’s Colonel Steven Hiller won’t be a part of, with Fox bumping off his character in the intervening years to excuse the actor’s commitment to Warner’s Suicide Squad. Celebrated as an international hero,...

Keep one eye on the sky and the other on store shelves, as new Independence Day Pop! vinyl figures are set to invade shops this February from Funko.

From Funko: "When an alien fleet launched an attack on Earth, the extraterrestrial beings had no idea what was in-store!

U.S. Marine Corps pilot Steve Hiller and the industrious David Levinson won't go down without a fight! Make sure to capture the Alien and track down the chase variant, too! (Alien Pop! chase variant not pictured)

Coming in February!"

Images via PopVinyls.com:

The post Independence Day Pop! Vinyl Figures Revealed by Funko appeared first on Daily Dead.

Will Smith first established himself in the music business as part of the duo D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. His friendly, relaxed persona translated easily into television stardom in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, starting in 1990. He then ventured into feature films with several supporting roles, most notably in the edgy drama Six Degrees of Separation. Smith's performance in Michael Bay's Bad Boys, second-billed to Martin Lawrence, showed that he was fully capable of shining in leading roles and he cemented that perception in Independence Day (1996). Earning top billing for the first time, Smith's charismatic swagger as Captain Steven Hiller energized and grounded the movie; he was convincing both as a family man and as a self-sacrificing military man ready to...

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Through the construction of Independence Day: Resurgence, one of the biggest questions the sci-fi sequel had to answer for fans of the original was whether or not Will Smith would be returning to reprise his role as Steven Hiller. After all, Independence Day is one of those films that helped build Smith into a bonafide star, so would he be back? As we now know, Smith opted out of... Read More...

There are some very light spoilers ahead for Independence Day: Resurgence.

Even if you haven't been closely following news about the upcoming sequel to Independence Day, when the first trailer came out and Will Smith — who starred in the original — was nowhere to be seen, you could probably figure out that he wouldn't be showing up to reprise his role of Captain Steven Hiller. That's because his character was killed off during a test of alien technology, as revealed by a viral website set up by 20th Century Fox:

“While test piloting the Esd’s first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Col. Hiller. Hiller’s valor in the War of 96 made him a beloved global icon whose selfless assault against the alien mothership lead directly to the enemy’s defeat. He is survived by his wife Jasmine and son Dylan.”

Now Smith has commented...

Were you bummed to hear about what happened to Steven Hiller between Independence Day and Independence Day: Resurgence? So was Will Smith. In an interview, the original Independence Day star admits it was “terrible” to learn of his character’s fate — though also like you, he managed to enjoy the trailer anyway. Read the Will Smith Independence […]

The post ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’: Will Smith Is Also Sad About Steven Hiller’s Fate appeared first on /Film.

This summer, “Independence Day Resurgence” will take fans back to see how Earth has fared in the aftermath of the worldwide alien invasion of 1996. But while most of the original cast is returning, Will Smith’s fighter pilot is not. While talking to Yahoo! News about “Concussion,” Smith spoke to his sadness over the ultimate fate of Captain Steven Hiller: “I was working on Suicide Squad during that time. [Independence Day director] Roland [Emmerich] and I had talked about it. The trailer looks really cool. I’m going to be sitting around with tears in my eyes when that one comes out… It was terrible when I found out my character died.” Of course, this revelation will come as a Huge surprise to fans of “Independence Day” who haven’t been keeping up with the multitude of in-universe websites associated with the sequel. Args — Augmented Reality Games — have become a staple of movie marketing over the last decade.

You will always be remembered, Steven Hiller. After Will Smith was noticeably missing in the trailer for the upcoming sequel to Independence Day, it was confirmed that the actor's alien-killing alter ego would not be appearing in Independence Day: Resurgence, because, sadly, he's dead. And it turns out, Smith, 47, was just as shocked by the news as fans. "I was working on Suicide Squad during that time," he told Yahoo! Movies of learning of his character's fate. According to the War of 1996 website, Hiller's obituary reads: "While test piloting the Esd's first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Col.

You will always be remembered, Steven Hiller. After Will Smith was noticeably missing in the trailer for the upcoming sequel to Independence Day, it was confirmed that the actor's alien-killing alter ego would not be appearing in Independence Day: Resurgence, because, sadly, he's dead. And it turns out, Smith, 47, was just as shocked by the news as fans. "I was working on Suicide Squad during that time," he told Yahoo! Movies of learning of his character's fate. According to the War of 1996 website, Hiller's obituary reads: "While test piloting the Esd's first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Col.

Not much needs to be said about this subject as I think we can all agree about it, but even Will Smith was upset with the news about the death of his character from "Independence Day." On the viral site for "Independence Day: Resurgence " Steven Hiller dies test-piloting an aircraft made out of human and alien technology. Some fans saw this and speculated that he wasn't really dead, and that the alien technology might have sent him somewhere or preserved his body in some way, and we won't find this out until we watch the movie. But no, that isn't the case, as Will Smith has come out and confirmed that his character really does die.

"I was working on Suicide Squad during that time. Roland and I had talked about it. The trailer looks really cool. I'm going to be sitting around with tears in my eyes when that one comes out…...

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Will Smith has been chatting about where he doesn't fit in to Independence Day: Resurgence...

This story contains a spoiler for Independence Day: Resurgence. One that's been revealed on the film's official website though.

He's soon to arrive in UK cinemas in the already-acclaimed drama Concussion, but one film we won't be seeing Will Smith in is the sequel to the 1996 smash hit, Independence Day. Smith turned down the chance to reprise the role of Steven Hiller in the upcoming Independence Day: Resurgence, with the mantle in that film instead passing to his character's son.

In fact, the official site for Independence Day: Resurgence has revealed that Smith's character died in between the first and second movies, in a plane crash. And in a new interview with Yahoo!, Smith has been chatting about when he found out about his character's fate.

"I was working on Suicide Squad during that time", he recalled.

Will Smith, an actor with a reasonable attachment to the characters he has portrayed, has some pretty strong emotions about the fate of his Independence Day hero. As previously revealed through a tie-in website to the Independence Day sequel, Smith's Captain Steven Hiller will not appear in the film, because he... died in an alien spacecraft accident. And in an interview with Yahoo Movies, the actor revealed that he's kind of bummed out by that fate. "I was working on Suicide Squad during that time," Smith said of when Independence Day: Resurgence was in production. "Roland [Emmerich, the film's director] and I had a talked about it. The trailer looks really cool. I'm going to be sitting around with tears in my eyes when that one comes out...It was terrible when I found out my character died." It's okay, Will Smith, life is a one-way track to the cold embrace of death...

When the Independence Day: Resurgence trailer was released it basically broke the internet. 20 years in the making, fans of the original movie have been waiting and hoping for another look at the war between the hostile aliens and the forces fighting back against them. However, it is disappointing that Will Smith won’t be reprising his role as Captain Steve Hiller. Following the trailer release, a viral website made its way to the internet that confirmed Hiller died a few years before the events of Resurgence. Will Smith recently opened up about how he felt when he realized his famous character bit the dust, saying bluntly: It was terrible when I found out my character died. This statement was made briefly in an interview that the actor did with Yahoo. While the majority of the piece revolves around his Oscar buzzed movie Concussion, he managed to make that ...

It has long been known since the film went into production that Will Smith would not be returning to the role of Captain Steven Hiller in Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day: Resurgence" which opens this coming Summer.

However, it wasn't until late last year that the fate of his character was revealed via a promotional viral website for the film - that Hiller died in a test piloting accident back in 2007, almost ten years before the events of the new film.

In a new interview with Yahoo whilst out promoting "Concussion," Smith was asked about the news of his character's death and passing on the project:

"I was working on Suicide Squad during that time. [Independence Day director] Roland [Emmerich] and I had talked about it. The trailer looks really cool. I'm going to be sitting around with tears in my eyes when that one comes out… It was terrible when I found out my character died.

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A new viral site explains what's happened next for Will Smith's Captain Hiller in Independence Day....

This story contains spoilers for Independence Day: Resurgence

The recently unveiled Independence Day: Resurgence debut trailer seems to have gone down really rather well so far. And whilst the band is mostly back together as far as the cast is concerned, Will Smith has opted not to return, causing a rather intriguing storyline adjustment.

You can find out more after we've cunningly deployed Daphne The Spoiler Squirrel...

An official viral site promoting Independence Day: Resurgence called War of 1996 contains a rather potent tidbit regarding the fate of Smith’s memorable main character from the original Independence Day. Smith, of course, played Captain Steven Hiller in the first film. Yet it seems that, after a well-deserved promotion to Colonel, the man who essentially saved Earth met his end years later in a sadly anti-climactic way,...

The world mourns Col. Hiller. While we all know they couldn't get Will Smith back for the Independence Day sequel, do they have explanation for him in the fictional movie world? The answer is most definitely: yes. Hidden in the very first epic trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence is a link to a brand new viral URL and Arg website called War of 1996 (referring to the original alien invasion and real of ID4 in 1996). Thanks to tips from ComingSoon and SlashFilm, in the timeline of events on the website it actually includes info and details on the unfortunate death of Will Smith's character, Captain Steven Hiller. This isn't really so much of a spoiler as it as a teaser to dive deeper into this website and learn more of the backstory. In the original movie, Will Smith played Captain Steven Hiller, a Marine Corps fighter pilot who helped...

Captain Steven Hiller is dead. May he rest in peace. And that about sums up where Will Smith is in regards to the Independence Day sequels, as revealed by the viral site WarOf1996.com which accompanied the launch of the new Independence Day: Resurgence teaser trailer. With Will Smith opting not to return for the franchise's upcoming sequels, something needed to be done to address the... Read More...

In the real world, Will Smith will not appear in Independence Day: Resurgence because he was too expensive for Roland Emmerich. But you can't just write that in a script, so the filmmakers had to come up with an in-universe explanation for Smith's absence, which they revealed on the film's tie-in site, Warof1996.com. [Spoilers, if that's what you want to call them, will follow.] As it turns out, the reason Smith's Captain Steven Hiller will not appear in the film is because ... he's dead! According to the site, Hiller died on April 27, 2007, when the new alien-hybrid aircraft he was flying suffered an "unknown malfunction" and crashed. That's a cold write-around, Independence Day writers. Very cold. (Unless, of course, this is all a cover to make a potential Will Smith cameo in the film that much more surprising — which would be cold and calculating in a different way!)...

Spoiler Alert

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They killed him.

They didn't give his character a happy ending with his family. . . They didn't have him join the new film in a supporting role. . .

They just. . . killed him.

Sorry for the rambling, it's just that I've received some sad information regarding Will Smith's character Steven Hiller, the hero that stopped the world from being brought to ruin on "Independence Day." Apparently there is no room/use for him in the sequel movie, as the writers have decided to kill him. Bring his life to an end. Remove him from existence. But the most painful thing of all?

Is how he died.

Steven Hiller lost his life flying an experimental alien aircraft that the government was perfecting to use against any potential threats in the foreseeable future. He lost his life trying to do what he could to not only better his country, but protect the entire earth.

It's no secret that Will Smith is not reprising his role of Steven Hiller in Independence Day: Resurgence. Director Roland Emmerich tried to get him back, but Smith turned him down, and the sequel was made without him. The first trailer was released over the weekend, and it was surprisingly pretty awesome! It's a shame Smith didn't come back.

Well, thanks to a viral website that has been launched, we have some details on the history of the Earth in the wake of the alien battle from the first film. It reveals that Hiller was killed while test piloting an alien hybrid fighter jet. The news is dated April 27th, 2007, and the slide reads as follows:

“While test piloting the Esd’s first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Col. Hiller. Hiller’s valor in the War of 96 made him a beloved global icon whose...

Spoiler alert! Do not read unless you’re curious how the filmmakers explain Will Smith‘s absence from “Independence Day: Resurgence.” Fans of “Independence Day” can learn what happened to Will Smith‘s character, Steven Hiller, long before “Independence Day: Resurgence” hits theaters. War of 1996, a new viral marketing site for the upcoming sequel, provides a detailed timeline of what happened on earth after the attempted alien invasion in the first film. In an entry dated April 27, 2007, we learn that Hiller died while testing a new piece of alien technology, which humans have adapted as part of a new global defense network.

They're baaaaack. Twenty years after Will Smith owned July 4th, the aliens -- and most of the 1996 cast -- have returned in "Independence Day: Resurgence." Studio 20th Century Fox dropped the first ID4 sequel trailer on December 13, featuring bigger, badder alien technology and new lead Liam Hemsworth, along with OGs Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, and Vivica A. Fox.

Just let this rousing trailer speech prepare you for the battle ahead:

"Today you will once again be fighting for our freedom. Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution, but from annihilation. And should you win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice we will not go quietly into the night, we will not finish without a fight. We're going to live on. We're going to survive. Today we celebrate our ..." cue title!

Much like the invasion from the first movie, yesterday’s reveal of the first trailer for long awaited sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, is something we didn’t see coming. And as awesome as it was to see the likes of Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman back in action, I think everyone was asking the same question: where’s Will Smith? With so many of the original cast returning, including Vivica A. Fox and Judd Hirsch, the once and future Fresh Prince was conspicuous by his absence. And while we’ll might never know we didn’t sign on the dotted line for the sequel, we now know what has become of his character, Col. Steven Hiller, thanks to the rather awesome viral site, warof1996.com. Perusing the rich and detailed timeline of events between the first movie and next year’s sequel, you’ll come across this entry for 2007:...

The most notable absentee in the upcoming "Independence Day: Resurgence" is that of Will Smith. The actor both did not want to return, due to his tiring of doing sequels, and couldn't return due to his "Suicide Squad" filming commitments.

With the trailer launch today showing quite clearly he's not in there, a new tie-in promo website Warof1996.com related to the film has revealed the fate of his character Lt. Steven Hiller in Roland Emmerich's follow-up.

The site gives users an interactive look at the events in the twenty years between the end of the first film in 1996 and the new one which is set in the present day. In the timeline in the year 2007 there's a 'Breaking News' story which indicate the character died during a test flight of an alien hybrid fighter. The report says:

"While test piloting the Esd's first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown...