Will Smith Reportedly Won't Make Independence Day Sequel

Will Smith will not join the cast of a sequel to his 1996 film Independence Day, which is expected to hit theaters on the twentieth anniversary of the original, Deadline reports. Independence Day was the film that put Smith on the map as a leading man in a big-budget action tentpole for the first time, setting the stage for the former sitcom star to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Smith has reportedly not yet told filmmakers that he's decided against taking the role, so there is always room for the actor to change his mind; it wouldn't be the first or even second time since this project began to be seriously covered last year. "Will Smith can not come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name," director Roland Emmerich said when the film, tentatively titled ID Forever, was first announced. "It would be too much. We have like maybe half of the people that you know would know from the first film and the other half people who are new." The filmmaker recently said that the script was ready to go with or without Smith, who is also being pursued by Sony for a fourth installment in the lucrative Men in Black franchise. Almost nobody believes that he'll return for that role, either.