Vivica A. Fox Admits 2016 'Independence Day' Sequel 'Missed Out by Not Bringing Will Smith Back'

Vivica A. Fox returned for director Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day: Resurgence" in 2016

Vivica A. Fox thought the Independence Day sequel was lacking without Will Smith.

Fox reprised her role of Jasmine Hiller in 2016's Independence Day: Resurgence, 20 years after the hit 1996 original film.

While director Roland Emmerich and several other cast members returned (Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner were all back), Smith did not reprise his role as Capt. Steven Hiller.

"I just didn't feel like it was good and it lived up to the first one," Fox, 58, said to AV Club. "I really feel we missed out by not bringing Will Smith back."

"We had most of the original cast on, but I think the one true link that was missing to the success of Independence Day 2 was that Will Smith wasn't there," she continued.

"And I'm gonna tell you — I'm gonna keep it real — I was at the premiere and I was like ... 'Let's see how the fans are gonna feel about this.' And, sure enough, on Twitter they blew me up!" said Fox.

Related: Vivica A. Fox Says Her Phone 'Blew Up' After 'Kill Bill' Cameo in SZA Music Video: 'I Was Very Honored'

Independence Day: Resurgence also starred Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe and Jessie T. Usher, who played the son of Smith's Steven Hiller.

In February 2022, director Emmerich told The Wrap that they rewrote the script for the sequel in two weeks after Smith dropped out of the project.

“I’m proud of Independence Day: Resurgence, but we had one problem: Will Smith decided while we were preparing to drop out. That was a huge, huge blow to me," he said. "At that point I had to decide should I keep going or not? I realized we had spent $10 or 12 million, and you don’t drop out easily."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Emmerich, prior to that, told Yahoo Movies UK in 2019 that he regretted moving forward with the film.

"I just wanted to make a movie exactly like the first, but then in the middle of production Will opted out because he wanted to do Suicide Squad. I should have stopped making the movie because we had a much better script," said Emmerich, also known for movies like 2012, The Day After Tomorrow and White House Down.

"After I had to, really fast, cobble another script together. And I should have just said no, because all of a sudden I was making something I criticized myself, a sequel," he said.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.