This first trailer for INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE is definitely bigger than the last one

I rewatched Independence Day earlier this year for the first time in ages (Clearly I don’t watch much eTV or I would have seen it every other month), and you know what? It’s still pretty damn fun. Nobody’s ever going to accuse director Roland Emmerich and screenwriting partner Dean Devlin of making the most intellectual pieces of art, but the two men have become masters of the big budget disaster movie genre, and this was never exemplified more perfectly than their highly successful 1996 sci-fi crowd pleaser.

Now, twenty two years later they’re going to try and recapture that explosive glory, and based on the first trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence, they’re off to a good start. They may not have Will Smith* headlining any more, but they’ve apparently made up for their lack of Fresh Prince with an armada of big alien spaceships. Really, really big alien spaceships.

Luckily, Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman (Best. Movie. President. Ever) are still there to fight back and this time they’re packing some alien-powered tech as well as a trio of franchise newcomer heroes in the form of Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher and Maika Monroe. Check it out below.

We always knew they were coming back. After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

*20^th Century Fox has unveiled Warof1996.com., a site that documents the interactive timeline after the famous war of the first film, and on there it’s been revealed that Smith’s Steven Hiller actually died when a test using the new alien tech backfired.

Independence Day: Resurgence also stars Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Sela Ward. It is scheduled for release on June 24, 2016.

Last Updated: December 19, 2015