For several years, there was conflicting reports about Will Smith’s potential inclusion in this year’s Independence Day sequel, with the producers said to have created two scripts – one featuring his character, and the other without. Eventually it was confirmed that Smith would not reprise his role as Captain Steven Hiller in Independence Day: Resurgence, with the actor instead opting to join the DC Extended Universe by portraying Deadshot in Suicide Squad.
During a Facebook Live Q&A (via EW), Smith has revealed that it came down to a simple choice between the two movies, and explained why he opted for the latter:
“I had the two screenplays in front of me for the Independence Day 2 and for Suicide Squad. I had to choose between the two of those. Even the choice of going to Suicide Squad — nothing about the qualities of the movie — but the choice of trying to go forward versus clinging and clawing backwards. I do want to aggressively go forward and do new things and create and hopefully be able to stumble upon a new heyday.”
From a financial point of view, it would seem that Smith made the right choice, with Suicide Squad giving him his second-biggest hit of his career after the first Independence Day, having grossed almost $750 million, while Resurgence underperformed with $390 million. Of course, had Smith opted for a return to the sci-fi franchise, the box office may have been a little bigger…
Originally published December 11, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
