FILM · 2016 · USA
Independence Day: Resurgence
123 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (123)
- #001
Shortly after the success of the first film, 20th Century Fox paid Dean Devlin a large sum to write the script for the sequel. After completing the script, however, Devlin did not deliver it and returned the money to the studio because he felt the story did not fit the first film. Only about 15 years later did Devlin meet with Roland Emmerich to try again, feeling he had a "cracked" story for the sequel.
- #002
At around the 3-minute mark, the name Russell Casse is visible on a brick in the center of the '96 War memorial seen in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the film. Russell Casse was the name of Randy Quaid's character in Independence Day (1996), who sacrificed himself to destroy the ship approaching Area 51.
- #003
Fans were surprised when they heard that Dr. Okun would return in this film. Most viewers believed he died in Independence Day (1996) when the alien trapped him with its tentacles to communicate telepathically with President Whitmore. However, Major Mitchell checks Dr. Okun's pulse and gets no response, leaving the character's fate ambiguous. In an interview with Brent Spiner, he explained that Major Mitchell was supposed to say "He's dead," but the producers removed the line to keep open the possibility of using Dr. Okun in a sequel. Spiner also joked that Major Mitchell is only a soldier and not qualified as a doctor to determine whether Dr. Okun is alive.
- #004
In an interview with Liam Hemsworth, it was stated that production had to be halted for four days due to financing problems after the production ran out of money.
- #005
The announcement that Patricia Whitmore would be recast from Mae Whitman to Maika Monroe in Independence Day (1996) was met with great anger. Fans reacted to the decision on social media. Most notably, Whitman's close friend Anna Kendrick objected to the recasting on Twitter. Speculation suggested that the producers believed Whitman was not "conventionally pretty" enough to reprise the role. Whitman, who has had a fairly solid acting career including a lead role in the 2015 surprise comedy hit The DUFF (2015), remained mostly silent on the matter.
- #006
The film was given a production budget of $165 million (excluding marketing and distribution costs), $90 million more than its predecessor Independence Day (1996), which had a budget of $75 million 20 years earlier and grossed $817.4 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 1996. However, "ID: Resurgence" earned only $389 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest box office failures of 2016.
- #007
In an interview with Empire Magazine, director Roland Emmerich revealed that London replaced the city of Paris [in France] in the film, saying: "[After the terror attacks last November] we thought it wasn't right for the Burj Khalifa to hit the Eiffel Tower [and the Louvre], so we dropped it on the London Eye. The British can take it."
- #008
The character Dr. Okun, played by Brent Spiner, is based on Jeffrey A. Okun, the digital effects supervisor on Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's earlier sci-fi hit Stargate (1994). He is an almost perfect representation of Okun, down to his hair and mannerisms.
- #009
Roland Emmerich states that Will Smith's departure from the production was a huge factor in why the film was a disappointment, because without his character they had to quickly rewrite the entire script from scratch and rush everything else to meet the July 2016 premiere date.
- #010
David Arnold, who composed the music for the first film, said on his Twitter account that he was not asked to score the sequel and that, because the first film's themes belong to the studio, the new composers could use them.
- #011
At around 1 hour 12 minutes, as Catherine and Umbutu examine what Okun wrote, one of the symbols is clearly the ribbon symbol representing Earth from the "Stargate" series.
- #012
Depending on the country where the film's DVD release was made, the cover shows a ship over a country. In Australia and New Zealand, the ship appears over Australia and New Zealand. In the American version, it is shown over North America.
- #013
Jeff Goldblum (David Levinson), Judd Hirsch (Julius Levinson), Bill Pullman (President Thomas J. Whitmore), Brent Spiner (Dr. Brackish Okun), Vivica A. Fox (Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller), John Storey (Dr. Isaacs) and Robert Loggia (General Gray) are the only actors who reprise their roles from Independence Day (1996).
- #014
The fictional medical condition former President Whitmore suffers from was called "Alien Psychic Residual Condition." It resulted from Whitmore's close encounters with the aliens during the '96 War in Independence Day (1996). Apparently severe internal and mental changes troubled and disturbed him, along with the aliens' "knowing." Whitmore sees visions of their impending return and dark premonitions about the aliens' plans for the world.
- #015
Actress Susan Sarandon turned down a prominent role because she found the script incomprehensible. The part is thought to be that of President Elizabeth Lanford, who was ultimately played by actress Sela Ward. Sarandon reportedly said: "When I read the script I couldn't understand what was going on. I just couldn't understand it. Seriously. A lot of people from the original weren't going to do it, and I read it and just thought 'No. I can't. I can't.'" Sarandon added: "But seriously, I read this and I had no idea whatsoever. They said, 'Wait until you see how your character dies.' I read that part and thought, 'It's actually not that great.' It's not that interesting."
- #016
Among the locations of the ESD's (Earth Space Defense program) space stations are Earth, the Moon, Mars and Rhea, the second-largest moon of Saturn.
- #017
In an interview with Empire magazine, Roland Emmerich said that a third film would be made depending on this sequel's box office success. Emmerich also stated that if another film were greenlit, there would not be such a long gap between sequels.
- #018
According to a backstory created by the cast and crew on Independence Day (1996), Dr. Okun was recruited by the army in Berkeley in the 1960s and had been isolated at Area 51 ever since due to the highly classified nature of his work. Although never explained in the original film, his first name was established as Brackish, meaning "unappealing" or "repulsive."
- #019
Humanity's use of alien technology points to one of the film's larger themes. Production Designer Barry Chusid said: "One of the things we tried to depict was the idea that all the nations of the world are now united against a common enemy. They've done it before, they'll do it again. Also, there's no longer a distinction between civilians and soldiers, or between countries. We'll use everything we have to fight the aliens."
- #020
A television commercial was made for the U.S. Army and aired posing as an advertisement for the fictional ESD (Earth Space Defense program) to promote the film.
- #021
Roland Emmerich explained the choice of the word "resurgence" in the film's title: "We call it the '96 War in the film (the alien invasion of the original Independence Day (1996)). This is like a post-unified-world generation, and it's great to see a world come together against a common enemy. It's a resurgence."
- #022
Independence Day: Resurgence was director Roland Emmerich's first sequel.
- #023
In an interview with the BBC, Will Smith said he was not in the film because of a scheduling conflict with another film, which led to his absence. Smith said: "It was one of those things; I had a few films lined up, there was Concussion (2015) and Suicide Squad (2016), and it was a timing decision between Independence Day: Resurgence and Suicide Squad. They were sending pictures from the set and I thought: the world is in a nostalgic place right now. Especially in entertainment, there's such a pull toward nostalgia, so it was just a perfect opportunity, but it didn't work out."
- #024
In May 2013, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich announced that wormholes would be used as a story element in this sequel. In the film's storyline, the global space ship emerges from a wormhole near ESD's (Earth Space Defense) Moon Defense Headquarters.
- #025
In interviews, actor Liam Hemsworth said that during production he and co-star Jeff Goldblum dreamed that they were being chased by aliens.
- #026
Producer and co-writer Dean Devlin said: "The most rewarding part of the project is being back on set with these actors and seeing that they're not just as good as they were then, but even better. When you're writing the script you wonder, 'What will it be like twenty years later?' Then those of us who came back are working on this film and lighting up the screen, and our new team shines too. It's a perfect mix."
- #027
Some parts of the film were shot at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah. The Bonneville Salt Flats had been used as a filming location for various films, including Con Air (1997), John Carter (2012), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), The Tree of Life (2011), The World's Fastest Indian (2005) and the first Independence Day (1996).
- #028
Actor Brent Spiner was nominated for a Saturn Award for his role as the eccentric scientist Dr. Brackish Okun in Roland Emmerich's blockbuster Independence Day (1996), a role that showcased the actor's unique eccentricity and sense of humor and which he reprised in Independence Day: Resurgence (2016).
- #029
This sequel relied more on CGI than on "live" effects. The live effects that created the original's memorable set pieces were the work of powder man and pyrotechnician Joe Viskocil. He had become the industry's leading expert at creating spectacular explosions and destruction in miniature. Joe Viskocil died in 2014 at the age of 61.
- #030
Jeff Goldblum was paid $15 million for Independence Day (1996), 15 times his salary for the original.
- #031
(At about 1 hour 22 minutes) When Julius Levinson takes over the driving from the girl on the way to Area 51, one of the boys in the passenger seat says, "If we go any slower, we'll be going backwards," a fun nod to Independence Day (1996). As Julius and David head to Washington to rescue David's ex-wife from the White House, David says, "We'll get a ticket," referring to how slowly his father drives even though the roads to Washington are nearly empty.
- #032
The project was officially greenlit by 20th Century Fox on November 27, 2014.
- #033
While test-piloting ESD's first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Colonel Hiller. Hiller's bravery in the '96 War made him a beloved global icon, as his selfless attack against the alien mothership directly led to the enemy's defeat. His wife Jasmine and stepson Dylan survived.
- #034
Nine visual effects companies created the visual effects seen in the film. They are (in alphabetical order): Cinesite, Digital Domain, Image Engine, LUXX Studios, MPC, Scanline VFX, Trixter, Uncharted Territory and Weta Digital.
- #035
In the film, General Joshua Adams becomes president after President Lanford is killed by the aliens. In real life, however, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the position Adams held before becoming president) is not a Cabinet position and therefore is not in the line of presidential succession, so Adams could not have become president. Even in times of national crisis, officers in the line of succession are never kept in the same place together. This is why a Cabinet member is always absent from the State of the Union address.
- #036
A sequel was being developed shortly after the original film Independence Day (1996). There was debate over whether a sequel was even possible, since the hive-minded alien race depicted in the original appeared to have been wiped out. One option involved editing parts of the original to allow for liberties in the proposed sequel. A leaked 1996 script for a sequel included adapted alien technology that allowed Dylan Hiller to lead a group confronting the aliens in space, with President Whitmore still suffering from his mental connection to the alien. According to rumors, Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich refused to take part in a sequel following a dispute with FOX Studios after FOX TV cancelled "The Visitor," a project the pair were also involved in.
- #037
(At about 14 minutes) While Jake and Patricia video chat, they are using QQ, which as of June 2016 had roughly 877 million active user accounts (almost all of them in China), making it the world's fourth-largest chat and social networking platform.
- #038
The year the world's moon base was established was 2009, seven years before this film's timeframe and thirteen years after the timeframe of the original Independence Day (1996).
- #039
Jeff Goldblum's son Charlie Ocean was born on Independence Day 2015. Goldblum wrote on Facebook: "We are thrilled to share the wonderful news of the birth of our son, Charlie Ocean Goldblum, born on the 4th of July. Independence Day."
- #040
According to TV Tropes, "The original plan was to release two sequels a year apart, but in the end the studio greenlit only one film."
- #041
The previous film was shot in Super 35 with spherical lenses, but Roland Emmerich and cinematographer Markus Förderer decided to shoot this one with Hawk anamorphic lenses because they had had a very positive experience using them on Stonewall (2015).
- #042
According to a source at 20th Century Fox, quoted in an article by Sanyukta Iyer published in The Mumbai Mirror on 20 June 2016, "keeping in mind the sensitivities of all religious groups and other activists, the makers were asked not to shoot in India or depict damaged important monuments." While the next film brings about a global catastrophe on an unprecedented scale, India will not appear in the film, which opens worldwide on 24 June. When the Mirror contacted a spokesperson for the company's Indian subsidiary Fox Star Studios, they confirmed the news and stated that it was an internal decision agreed upon thanks to a number of policymakers who turned down such requests. "There was also a demand to represent India by showing an attack on the Taj Mahal in one of the film's posters. But that too was refused," the source added.
- #043
Four actors in the film play past or present fictional American Presidents, depending on the film's main timeline. They are Bill Pullman (former President Thomas Whitmore, the 42nd President); Robert Loggia (former President General William Gray USMC (Ret.), the 43rd President); Sela Ward (current President Elizabeth Lanford, the 45th President, at the beginning and in the film's two acts, but she is later killed in an alien attack at the start of the third act); and William Fichtner (General Joshua Adams, who becomes President Joshua Adams, the 46th President, after Lanford's death). Pullman played the American President character in the original Independence Day (1996).
- #044
The news website said of the "Independence Day My Street" website: "In a sly effort to promote Independence Day: Resurgence, the film's marketers set up a website called Independence Day My Street, where you can place the film at any address you like (your own street, a friend's or an enemy's address, or the address of a famous place) and see how it would look in the grip of a giant alien apocalypse. Very little happened to us and we can report that it was HOURS of it. ENTERTAINMENT."
- #045
(At about the 33rd minute) Robert Loggia appears as General William Gray. Loggia reprised his role from the original Independence Day (1996).
- #046
To prepare for the role of President Thomas J. Whitmore in the original Independence Day (1996), Bill Pullman read Bob Woodward's The Commanders and watched the documentary film The War Room (1993). The character is revived in Independence Day: Resurgence and is referred to as former President Whitmore. In the final battle of the first film, Pullman refers to himself as "Eagle 1." Also, in 20th Century Fox's sci-fi spoof Spaceballs (1987), his character calls himself "Eagle 5."
- #047
The NASA astronaut costume outfits seen in the film are known as "Aeromax" space suits.
- #048
The film achieved an opening box office of 3.53 million US dollars, the biggest opening in India for a 20th Century Fox film.
- #049
(At about the 38th minute) During the Moon attack, and as the alien ship is about to fire its cannon, listen carefully to the music. You will hear the same musical measures used when the aliens were about to fire in Independence Day (1996).
- #050
Vivica A. Fox got the feature film breakout role she had envied when she appeared in Independence Day (1996). Fox reprises the role of Jasmine Dubrow in this sequel.
- #051
(At about the 35th minute) In an overhead shot of the Sphere ship's crash site, the linear impact trail from the crash can be seen bisecting half of the perfectly circular Van de Graaff crater. A circle with a line through it is a recurring symbol seen or drawn by those suffering from Alien Psychic Residue Condition, and it is later revealed to mean "enemy" in the Harvester aliens' language and to represent the Sphere's Resistance.
- #052
The crew of the Irish ship drink the same whiskey that David drank in the first Independence Day (1996).
- #053
This is the second cinematic collaboration between actress Sela Ward and director Roland Emmerich; the first was The Day After Tomorrow (2004).
- #054
Screenwriter James Vanderbilt, who had worked on director Roland Emmerich's White House Down (2013), joined the production in March 2013 to rework the first script draft prepared by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. It was suggested that this was because the film was being rewritten to replace Will Smith's character Captain Steven Hiller with Jake Morrison, who was ultimately cast with actor Liam Hemsworth.
- #055
In Japan, the American teaser poster showing the Statue of Liberty being attacked by an alien spacecraft was replaced by the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam from the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn universe retaliating against the alien mothership. The website Anime News Network reported: "Although the two works seem unrelated, both are sci-fi action shows that revive dormant but beloved series. Gundam Unicorn also includes independence — that is Zeon's aim in its war against the Earth Federation. Harutoshi Fukui, author of the original Gundam Unicorn novels, explained the similarities further. 'Our two works are connected like soul brothers by the theme of humanity's indomitable spirit pushing despair aside. This time the enemy is truly great, but people will not lose! The Unicorn Gundam will help too (in our hearts).'".
- #056
20th Century Fox's British arm shot a commercial with the Manchester United football team, of which English Fox is an official partner. The commercial features Angelababy and Jeff Goldblum and includes a number of MU footballers as guest actors playing fighter pilots, among them Daley Blind, Juan Mata, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young and their captain Wayne Rooney.
- #057
The main photography period for this picture lasted about four months, between April and August 2015.
- #058
The first release took on the screenplay by actor James A. Woods, who wrote the film's script together with four other writers. Woods also appears in the film as Lieutenant Ritter, where he is billed in the acting role as James Andre Woods.
- #059
The alien warriors closely resemble the Death Gliders from Stargate (1994), also created by Roland Emmerich.
- #060
The character Albert Nimziki from the original Independence Day (1996), played by actor James Rebhorn, did not return in this film because of Rebhorn's death in 2014.
- #061
Liam Hemsworth's brother Chris Hemsworth appeared in Star Trek (2009) as the father of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine). Pine's real father, Robert Pine, appeared in the original Independence Day (1996).
- #062
There was much talk about whether Liam Hemsworth had a personal assistant whose only job was to keep his favorite drink in the refrigerator and always ready. The rumor was ultimately denied by Liam Hemsworth. Asked about it in an interview, he stated that all the actors' meals were provided by the same professional kitchen staff and that there was no personal assistant to look after his favorite drink himself.
- #063
The film placed number one at the international box office in its opening weekend. According to the website Deadline, "Fox's Independence Day: Resurgence opened to $102.13 million overseas to become the number one film at the international box office this weekend. Roland Emmerich's sequel, arriving 20 years later, invaded 57 markets and topped 40 of them, including Korea, Mexico and several Southeast Asian centers."
- #064
It is the third blockbuster science fiction film directed by Roland Emmerich for 20th Century Fox. The first was Independence Day (1996) and the second was The Day After Tomorrow (2004).
- #065
The abbreviation ESD stands for the "Earth Space Defense" program, while the abbreviation ILS stands for "International Legacy Squadron."
- #066
The character Julius Levinson is based on one of Dean Devlin's uncles. On Independence Day (1996), director Roland Emmerich wanted Martin Landau for the role of Julius Levinson, but he was busy with The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996).
- #067
When the "good aliens'" global spaceship arrives early in the film, the lights along its central/equatorial line blink in sequence. This may be an attempt at communication, similar to the one humans attempted with the "Welcome wagon" helicopter in the first film.
- #068
The Guardian newspaper reported: "(20th Century) Fox's distribution chief Chris Aronson acknowledged that the opening box office result was 'below our estimates.' Resurgence earned $102 million overseas. 'We always expected the international community to carry the flag,' Aronson said."
- #069
It is the seventh collaboration between composer Harald Kloser and producer-director Roland Emmerich; the others are 2012 (2009), 10,000 BC (2008), Anonymous (2011), White House Down (2013), The Thirteenth Floor (1999) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004).
- #070
This is the second film in which William Fichtner plays a United States Air Force officer. He had previously played Colonel Willie Sharp in Armageddon (1998), 18 years earlier.
- #071
The film was first released twenty years after Independence Day (1996) and came to theaters on its 20th anniversary. The first film was released on July 2, 1996, whereas this film's world premiere was held on June 20, 2016, fourteen days before Independence Day 2016.
- #072
Liam Hemsworth and Maika Monroe were reported to be dating during the filming of this movie.
- #073
Umbutu is a fictional African country.
- #074
According to The Hollywood Reporter, via The AV Club, around the time the film was released, director "Roland Emmerich sold a spec script for a new space adventure, Moonfall, to Universal. The project sparked a bidding war between Universal and Sony, and it is not hard to see why, because Emmerich had written a story about a group of heroes who must save Earth from the moon, another object hurtling toward it." Conceptually, Moonfall is a disaster science fiction film similar to the Independence Day series.
- #075
This is Roland Emmerich's fifth film to feature the White House in a significant role. In Independence Day (1996), it was destroyed by the aliens' directed-energy weapon. In The Day After Tomorrow (2004), it was briefly shown half-buried in snow. In 2012 (2009), it was destroyed when a tsunami drove the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy into it. It was the main setting of White House Down. In this film, it survived destruction when the aliens' mothership landed beside it, although falling debris bent the flagpole. In a deleted scene from this film, it is again destroyed by the aliens, this time crushed by one of the landing legs of the alien mothership.
- #076
Titan Books published a series of tie-in books for the film, including both a comic book and a novel.
- #077
In this film, the President of the United States is a woman. Elizabeth Lanford (Sela Ward) is the 45th President of the United States and the first female President in the country's history. At the time of the film's premiere, Hillary Clinton was the Democratic presidential nominee until she lost the November 2016 election.
- #078
On November 12, 2013, it was announced that this first sequel to Independence Day (1996) had been rescheduled from 2015 to a July 2016 release. In November 2014, production was planned to begin in May 2015, but principal photography actually began on April 20, 2015.
- #079
Patrick St. Esprit plays a Secretary of Defense in this film. The same year, he played real-life Secretary of State Alexander Haig in the TV film Killing Reagan (2016).
- #080
Additional scenes were shot in early 2016 in Los Angeles, California.
- #081
Director Roland Emmerich modestly notes that advances in computer-generated imagery helped create the film's spectacular scenes, and producer Dean Devlin adds: "The beauty of what Roland did in the first film was that he combined old-fashioned visual effects techniques with digital techniques. Today the only limit is your imagination, and Roland has an incredible visual imagination."
- #082
Australian journalist, media personality and co-host of Aussie Today (1982) Karl Stefanovic was originally set to play himself in a cameo appearance, but his scene was cut from the final edit. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on December 15, 2015: "Speaking on the Today program, he said he would play 'a dangerous TV presenter' after a set visit led to a surprise invitation to fill a small role. Stefanovic pretended to cry on live television when director Roland Emmerich told him during a TV interview that his first Hollywood film had ended up on the cutting room floor. Emmerich said: Karl "... played one of the reporters in a scene, but unfortunately we had to cut that scene. It was too long, that always happens", adding, "as they say in the film business, it happens!"
- #083
The official synopsis of the novelization of Independence Day: Resurgence reads: "Hybrid fighters merging human and alien technology. Massive cannon emplacements on the Moon and Mars. A planetary defense force made up of the best military personnel ever trained. We've known for twenty years that the enemy would return. The nations of Earth collaborated on a unified defense program designed to protect the planet. But nothing could have prepared us for the intensity of their new attack, and only the courage and skill of a few brave men. Women too can hope to bring our world back from the brink of destruction."
- #084
For this film, many global markets and international territories recorded their biggest opening weekend box office gross to date for a Roland Emmerich film.
- #085
Julius Levinson's boat was named "Lucky Star".
- #086
The jet spacecraft that carries weapons to the military's lunar defense base outpost and operates like a giant forklift or tug was named "Moon Tug".
- #087
This was Sylvie Grontis Hagan's debut.
- #088
Roland Emmerich took on several roles on this picture. Emmerich was director, producer, co-story writer and co-screenwriter, and the film was based on characters created by him and by Dean Devlin, who was also a producer, co-story writer and co-screenwriter.
- #089
Former Mayor of London and British MP Boris Johnson declared that, if the 2016 referendum on whether the United Kingdom would withdraw from the European Economic Community (known as the "Brexit" campaign) succeeded, June 23, 2016 could be Britain's "Independence Day", among others supporting the Brexit campaign for the UK to leave the EU (European Union). Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) was released in most regions of the world, including the United Kingdom, on June 23, 2016, the same day as the vote. When the Brexit vote succeeded in taking the United Kingdom out of the EU, many of its supporters declared it to be Great Britain's "Independence Day".
- #090
A Japanese TV commercial for the film features commentary from the characters Full Frontal and Banagher Links and the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam from the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series. In the clip they say: "Full Frontal: It's as big as a planet!. Banagher: Huh? Damn it!. Full Frontal: Is it directing gravity as it pleases?!. Banagher: This time we'll destroy them forever!… I want to believe in humanity's potential! Full Frontal: Show us your potential, humanity!"
- #091
Maika Monroe, the actress who plays Patricia Whitmore, had most recently appeared in another science fiction film, Sony Pictures' The 5th Wave (2016), alongside Liev Schreiber and Chloë Grace Moretz, adapted from Rick Yancey's novel. That film also followed Monroe's work in the science fiction indie Bokeh (2017). Those two films and Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) make up three science fiction films Monroe appeared in within a single year, all of them in 2016, the year of their initial release.
- #092
Independence Day: Resurgence expands the mythology of the Independence Day (1996) universe by reuniting the original cast from the first film and introducing new actors from around the world, bringing the group back together. For Roland Emmerich, this ensemble is a dream team. Emmerich said: "It's exciting to see this transfer from one generation to the next. We have our veteran heroes from the first film making room for a team of newcomers. Having the original cast on set and closed off is like a twenty-year class reunion, the class of '96."
- #093
The film was released by 20th Century Fox in 4,067 theaters.
- #094
This is the fifth of five collaborations [to date, as of June 2016] between art director/production designer Barry Chusid and writer-producer-director Roland Emmerich. The first four films were The Patriot (2000), The Thirteenth Floor (1999), 2012 (2009) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004); the last three were also science fiction films.
- #095
A television commercial for the film aired on February 7, 2016, during Super Bowl 50.
- #096
The film's world premiere was held on June 20, 2016, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
- #097
20th Century Fox ran a cross-promotion in Japan with Sunrise for Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. Wikipedia describes this promotion as being based on "the novel by popular Japanese author Harutoshi Fukui (Shusen no Lorelei, Bokoku no Aegis, Samurai Commando: Mission 1549)." The novel is set in Gundam's Universal Century timeline. Character and mechanical designs are provided by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and Hajime Katoki, respectively.
- #098
The film's total running time is two hours, or 120 minutes, whereas the original Independence Day (1996) ran nearly two and a half hours at 145 minutes (or 154 minutes for the Special Edition), making Independence Day: Resurgence the shorter of the two by roughly 25 minutes (or 34 minutes against the longer version).
- #099
It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2016, when the United Kingdom voted for independence from the EU.
- #100
Liam Hemsworth turned down the role of Jerôme in Nymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013) and Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013), which would have had him playing Charlotte Gainsbourg's love interest. In the end, the two would go on to appear together here.
- #101
Along with the markets where it opened in the last weekend of June 2016, the film also opened in eleven more territories over the traditional American Independence Day weekend, covering Monday 4 July 2016. These included Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden. All of these countries would open the film at the start of the traditional US Independence Day weekend. Because the film experience and viewing time are synchronized with each other, many American moviegoers who did not see the film in late June 2016 are expected to wait to see it over the traditional Independence Day long weekend.
- #102
Jeff Goldblum's promotional tour for the film began in Australia and then took him to Dubai, Berlin, London, Mexico City, New York, Los Angeles and Japan.
- #103
On 14 October 2014, 20th Century Fox changed the film's release date, moving it up eleven days from 1 July 2016 to 20 June 2016. In the end, the majority of territories opened the film on 23 June 2016, with the second-highest number releasing on 24 June 2016.
- #104
Will Smith's last science fiction film, After Earth (2013), in which he did not take on the role of Steven Hiller again, was a critical failure and a box office disappointment. Around 35 crew members worked on both After Earth and Independence Day: Resurgence, mostly in visual effects and the art department.
- #105
This is the fourth theatrical film collaboration between producer Larry Franco and director Roland Emmerich, after 2012 (2009), Anonymous (2011) and White House Down (2013).
- #106
The film's first trailer was released by 20th Century Fox on 13 December 2015.
- #107
This is the eighth theatrical film collaboration between director Roland Emmerich and visual effects supervisor Volker Engel. The pair had previously collaborated on other science fiction and/or disaster films such as 2012 (2009), Godzilla (1998), Moon 44 (1990), Universal Soldier (1992) and the original Independence Day (1996).
- #108
This is the third collaboration between actress Joey King and writer-producer-director Roland Emmerich, after Stonewall (2015) and White House Down (2013).
- #109
When the alien ship crashes into China, a cargo ship with the CPMS brand can be seen in the harbor. The CPMS cargo ship can also be seen in the 2015 film 'San Andreas'.
- #110
After The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015), this was Liam Hemsworth's second consecutive science fiction film.
- #111
On 27 January 2015, 20th Century Fox offered the role of Jake Morrison to Liam Hemsworth.
- #112
This is the second theatrical film collaboration between Roland Emmerich and screenwriter James Vanderbilt, who had also worked together three years earlier on White House Down (2013).
- #113
In this film series, Jeff Goldblum worked with the brothers of two of his actor friends. He starred alongside Dennis Quaid in The Right Stuff (1983) and alongside Chris Hemsworth in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
- #114
According to an interview with the star conducted while actor Liam Hemsworth was promoting this film, he first watched Independence Day (1996) on home video and did not see it in theaters.
- #115
Regarding the film's opening weekend American box office results, the Forbes website said: "[20th Century] Fox chose to open the weekend before the July 4th holiday weekend, a strategy that worked on two of the four Transformers films "and" perhaps audiences are waiting for the patriotic holiday to see the patriotic sci-fi action sequel."
- #116
The picture was released in several formats, such as 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D and premium large formats.
- #117
Actress Maika Monroe signed on to appear in the film on April 27, 2015.
- #118
It is Roland Emmerich's third theatrical film with "day" in the title, after Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). All three were made for 20th Century Fox.
- #119
It is one of two science fiction films released in 2016 with "resurgence" in the title. The other is Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla (2016)), also known as "Shin Gojira", which opens on July 29, 2016, about five weeks after Independence Day: Resurgence's first release in theaters.
- #120
It is one of three films released in 2016 with "resurgence" in the title. One of them is a TV film titled Resurgence (2018), whose broadcast premiere was planned for December 31, 2016. The other is another science fiction film from Japan, Shin Godzilla (2016), also known as Shin Gojira, which will be released on July 29, 2016, about a month and a week after Independence Day: Resurgence.
- #121
Joey King and Nicolas Wright had previously appeared together in another Emmerich film, White House Down (2013).
- #122
Independence Day: Resurgence was also a novel by Alex Irvine.
- #123
The film made the shortlist for the Best Visual Effects Oscar but was not nominated.
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