Independence Day is a franchise of American science fictionaction films that started with Independence Day in 1996, which was eventually followed by the sequel, in 2016. The fate of the third installment remains up in the air because of disappointing sales figures for Resurgence, Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, and lack of interest by director Dean Devlin. The franchise revolves around extraterrestrials invading Earth and seeking to eradicate mankind while the remaining human resistance uses everything at their disposal to defeat the invaders and take back the planet. Now considered to be a significant turning point in the history of the Hollywoodblockbuster, the original film was released worldwide on July 3, 1996, but began showing on July 2 on limited release as a result of a high level of anticipation among moviegoers. The film grossed over $817.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1996 and, briefly, the second-highest-grossing film worldwide of all time behind 1993's Jurassic Park. Currently, it ranks 69th on the list of highest-grossing films, and was at the forefront of the large-scale disaster film and sci-fi resurgence of the mid-late 1990s. The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing.
Films
''Independence Day'' (1996)
The film focuses on disparate groups of people who converge in the Nevada desert in the aftermath of a worldwide attack by an extraterrestrial race of unknown origin. With the other people of the world, they launch a last-ditch counterattack on July 4—Independence Day in the United States.
''Independence Day: Resurgence'' (2016)
The film takes place twenty years after the events of the first film, during which the United Nations has collaborated to form Earth Space Defense, an international military defense and research organization. Through reverse engineering, the world has harnessed the power of alien technology and laid the groundwork to resist a second invasion.
Future
In May 2015, Deadline reported that Independence Day 3 and Independence Day 4 were being planned. In June 2016, during an interview with Empire magazine, Emmerich stated that a third film could be made, depending on the success of the second one. He also said that audiences would not have to wait as long as they did for the second in the series. According to Emmerich, the third film will depict an intergalactic journey, possibly set a year or two later since he wants to maintain the same group of people, especially the young characters. In October 2016, Emmerich spoke with ComingSoon.net and mentioned that potential sequels could be produced as TV-films, though they were still uncertain about how they would move forward with the sequels. In March 2018, LRM Online reported that, after having met producer Dean Devlin at WonderCon and asking about the status on Independence Day 3, Devlin told them "I don’t know. I don’t know. Currently, I personally have no plans on doing another one." Following this, Ryan Scott at MovieWeb translated the poor reception of the second film and Devlin's comments as meaning Independence Day 3 will likely not happen, also noting that 20th Century Fox merging with The Walt Disney Company would make it even less likely that a third film would be pursued.
Cast and characters
Crew
Reception
Box office performance
Critical response
Publications
The franchise has been the inspiration for a series of novels and comic books.
Novels
The first three novels were originally published in the 1990s based on the 1996 release of the first film, and were republished in March 2016 as a single-volume edition.
''Independence Day'' (1996)
The first book in the series is the novelization of the first film. Author Stephen Molstad wrote the novel to help promote the film shortly before its release. The novel goes into further detail on the characters, situations, and overall concepts not explored in the film. The novel presents the film's finale as originally scripted, with the character played by Randy Quaid stealing a missile and roping it to his cropduster biplane.
''Independence Day: Silent Zone'' (1998)
Following the film's success, a prequel novel entitled Independence Day: Silent Zone was written by Molstad in February 1998. The novel is set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and details the early career of Dr. Brackish Okun.
''Independence Day: War in the Desert'' (1999)
Molstad wrote a third novel, Independence Day: War in the Desert in July 1999. Set in Saudi Arabia on July 3, it centers around Captain Cummins and Colonel Thompson, the two Royal Air Force officers seen receiving the Morse code message in the film.
''Independence Day: Crucible'' (2016)
Independence Day: Crucible is the fourth book in the series, published in May 2016 bridging the events of Independence Day and its sequel. The novel focuses on the back story to Resurgence over a period of 20 years after the "War of 1996" and introduces new characters such as orphan Jake Morrison and tribe leader Dikembe Umbutu, whose ground battle in Africa reveals that aliens managed to land the only surviving city destroyer somewhere in the Congo during the initial attack. It also explains the after-effects of humans whose minds were hijacked by the aliens during the invasion, including Umbutu and President Whitmore. It also follows David Levinson's ascent to the head of the Earth Space Defense, Steve Hiller's son Dylan and his friendship with Jake and Patricia Whitmore, and Steve's untimely death caused by an accident while testing aircraft with alien technology designed by the ESD.
''Independence Day: Resurgence'' (2016)
Independence Day: Resurgence is the novelization of the of the same name, and the fifth book in the series. It was published on June 21, 2016, three days before the release of the second film on June 24, 2016. The novelization includes many scenes from the original screenplay that were removed from the final theatrical release, including an alternate opening scene which features the wormhole causing the destruction of a moon base on Rhea, and some other scenes presented in a different order.
A comic book series by Titan Comics titled Independence Day: Dark Fathom was produced to promote and lead up to the events of the second film. It was sold with the option to print custom comic stores on the cover being blown up by the alien spaceships.
Other
''Independence Day: The Official Collector's Magazine'' (1996)
Independence Day: The Official Collector's Magazine is a 68-page magazine by MVP Licensing, Inc. The magazine contains exclusive interviews, production information, and behind-the-scenes features, complete with color photos. The magazine is divided into 5 main sections, focusing on different aspects of the film production.
''The Art and Making of Independence Day: Resurgence'' (2016)
The Art and Making of Independence Day: Resurgence is an art book based on the making of the titular film.
Plays
''Independence Day UK'' (1996)
On August 4, 1996, BBC Radio 1 broadcast the one-hour play Independence Day UK, written, produced, and directed by Dirk Maggs, a spin-off depicting the alien invasion from a British perspective. None of the original cast was present. Dean Devlin gave Maggs permission to produce an original version, on the condition that he did not reveal certain details of the movie's plot, and that the British were not depicted as saving the day. Independence Day UK was set up to be similar to the 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds—the first 20 minutes were presented as if live.
Video games
Various video games based upon the franchise have been produced all the way back from 1996 and up until 2016.
ID4 Online, known more formally as Independence Day Online, was an arena-based action game developed by Mythic Entertainment, and published by Centropolis Entertainment. The game was billed as a direct sequel based on the movie Independence Day. This game was no longer available on early 2006, along with all other games offered on the Mythic-Realms gaming center excluding Dragon's Gate. On June 20, 2006, Mythic Entertainment was purchased by Electronic Arts.
''Independence Day - Computer Mission Disk'' (1996)
In 1996, Trendmasters included 11 floppy disk games for PC with their action figures. The games were Mission Disk 1: Command the Alien Invasion, Mission Disk 2: Mutate DNA, Mission Disk 3: Construct Weapons, Mission Disk 4: Classified, Mission Disk 5: Jumpstart an Attacker, Mission Disk 6: Infect the Mothership, Mission Disk 7: Bomb the City Destroyers, Mission Disk 8: Classified Attacker Information, Mission Disk 9: Top Secret, Mission Disk 10: Blast a Major City, and Mission Disk 11: Launch an Attacker.
''Independence Day (Pinball)'' (1996)
In June 1996, Sega Pinball, Inc. released a pinball game based upon the 1996 film of the same name.
''Independence Day (LCD)'' (1996)
In 1996, Tiger Electronics, Inc. released a handheld LCD game based upon the 1996 film of the same name.
''Inside Independence Day'' (1996)
In 1996 a "behind-the-scenes" multimedia CD-ROM titled Inside Independence Day was released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh; it includes storyboards for the film, sketches, movie clips, and a preview of the Independence Day video game.
''Independence Day'' (2005)
Independence Day was a wireless mobile version of the brand released in 2005.
''Independence Day My Street'' (2016)
Promoting the release of the second film, 20th Century Fox produced a website where you could use satellite imagery of your neighborhood and see what it would look like after an alien attack.
''Independence Day: Join the ESD'' (2016)
Promoting the release of the second film, 20th Century Fox produced a website where you could enlist the fictional Earth Space Defense and receiving new ranks by completing different challenges and games.
Independence Day: Resurgence - Battle Heroes is a free mobile app strategy game based on Independence Day: Resurgence. The game was developed by Zen Studios and Fox Digital Entertainment and is available to download for free on the iTunes App Store, Google Play and the Amazon Appstore.
''Independence Day: Extinction'' (2016)
Independence Day: Extinction is a mobile game created by Linekong U.S. and based on Independence Day: Resurgence. The game was released on June 30, 2016, and is available to download for free on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
Toys
released a toy line for the original film in 1996. Each action figure, vehicle or playset came with a 3½" floppy disk that contained an interactive computer game. Cepia later released a toy line for the second film. Pop Funko also released various figures based on the franchise.
