The Fresh Prince, Will Smith, debuted in Hollywood with the sitcom. However, it was the movie titled Independence Day that made him a star. Throughout his career, the actor has given many memorable performances. His iconic performance in the 1996 movie was certainly one of them. However, despite the tremendous success of the first film, why did he not sign up for the sequel?

During his interview with Yahoo Entertainment, the scriptwriter for the movie talked about how they approached Smith before even beginning to write the script. Writer Dean Devlin revealed when they approached the Philadelphia-born actor, he loved the script and was excited about it. The first movie became an immense success with a collection of more than $800 million globally. Despite that, Smith did not sign up for the sequel because of his fear. 

Devlin revealed, around the time when they talked about making a sequel to Independence Day, the Men in Black actor starred in a sci-fi film, After Earth. Because the sci-fi film did not do well at the Box Office, Smith did not want to take a risk with the sequel as well. Additionally, Devlin also revealed they had written the script of the sequel before they even planned to make the film.

The film continued without Will Smith, but it did not turn out the way the stakeholders had predicted. Why did it happen? Was Smith the only reason or was there something else?

Was the absence of Will Smith the reason for the Independence Day sequel’s low performance?

Apparently, it was because Fox Studios wanted to rush the production of the sequel. Devlin revealed the Studio interfered so much with the production of the sequel that they ended up making the film a lot more serious than they originally planned. Moreover, Smith’s absence also affected the reception of the movie.

Devlin and the team had written the movie imagining the 54-year-old actor at the center of the film. Therefore, when they changed their perspective on the entire project, it affected the allover product as well. Because of the creative differences between the production team and the studios, the film turned out to be something that Devlin was not excited about.

Nevertheless, Smith sustained his identity as a stunningly skilled actor. While several of his films are getting sequels, the actor is going to reprise his iconic role in the Bad Boys franchise’s fourth installment as well. So what if one path did not take you to your destination? You can always choose to change the path. That is what the Aladdin actor did and gained a lot of success.

Did you miss Will Smith in the Independence Day sequel? Share with us in the comments.