Vivica A. Fox Admits ‘Independence Day 2’ Needed Will Smith To Succeed
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Vivica A. Fox says 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence without Will Smith simply wasn’t that good.
During an interview with A.V. Club, the actress discussed the notoriously panned sequel and how Will’s absence wasn’t a good sign moving forward for the follow-up. She also noted that, during the movie’s premiere, she thought about how the fans would react to “the Fresh Prince” not being in the film.
Fox disclosed that Smith not being a part of Resurgence may have played a role in the movie’s failure to meet box office expectations. “I just didn’t feel like it was good and lived up to the first one,” the timeless beauty said. “I really feel we missed out by not bringing Will Smith [back]…We got most of the original cast but I think the one true link that was missing to the success of Independence Day 2 was that we missed that Will Smith wasn’t there.”
During a conversation with BBC Radio, Smith, 54, spoke about his decision not to join the film in 2016. The Philadelphia native explained that around this time, he had to decide between Concussion, DC’s Suicide Squad, and Independence Day 2: Resurgence. Ultimately he decided not to appear in the latter due to scheduling conflicts.
“It was one of those things — I had a couple of films lined up, I had Concussion and Suicide Squad, and so it was a decision, timing-wise, between Independence Day and Suicide Squad,” Smith said. “They were sending pictures from the set, and I was like, ahh…The world is in a place of nostalgia right now. Specifically in entertainment, there’s such a pull for nostalgia, so it was just the perfect opportunity and it didn’t work out [for me].”
Independence Day was released in theaters on July 3, 1996 and featured an ensemble cast including Smith, Fox, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, and Harvey Fierstein. The movie was a box-office darling, scoring over $800 million, on a $75 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. In comparison, Independence Day: Resurgence made $389.7 million on a $165 million budget.
More from VIBE.com
