Independence Day 2 gets an official release date

Independence Day 2 appears to be steadily moving forward, with Fox announcing that the sequel will hit US cinemas on 3 July 2015.

The film is thought to be one of two Independence Day sequels entering production, with Roland Emmerich having recently spoken about viewing the next film as the first in a new franchise.

According to Emmerich, Independence Day 2 will take place some 20 years after the events of the original film, with the aliens making their way back to Earth for another crack at hostile takeover.

While Will Smith is not expected to return, Bill Pullman has already confirmed his involvement, with Emmerich having explained that the new film will feature of mixture of characters old and new.

"It’s still some of the same characters, but also new younger characters," said Emmerich, who has co-written the script with Dean Devlin. "It’s a little bit like the sons take over."

Whether or not Emmerich will return to direct remains to be seen, but given that the new film will likely contain a whole host of city-wide destruction, we can think of nobody better-suited to the task...

George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.