Originally published December 11, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
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…
