Independence Day (2020 film)

Independence Day is a 2020 science fiction action comedy film directed by Joss Whedon, and starring Dwayne Johnson, Christian Bale, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoe Kravitz, Bryan Cranston, J. K. Simmons, Nicolas Cage, Alexandra Daddario, Elizabeth Banks, David Harbour, Chris Pine, Crispin Glover, Jack Black and Mark Wahlberg. The film is a remake of the 1996 film of the same name and is a reboot of the franchise entirely. The film will be released on July 1, 2020 by 20th Century Fox.

Plot
Martian spacecrafts start appearing in the sky all around the world and it soon becomes clear that they are intent on destroying the Earth. Despite having less superior technology, the people of Earth must band together to save their planet from being obliterated.

Cast

 * Dwayne Johnson - Captain Steve Hiller, a Marine pilot and Jasmine's boyfriend
 * Christian Bale - President Thomas J. Whitmore, the President of the United States
 * Jesse Eisenberg - David Levinson, a scientist and technology expert
 * Zoe Kravitz - Jasmine Dubrow, a waitress, Steve's girlfriend, and Dylan's mother
 * Bryan Cranston - Julius Levinson, a priest and David's father
 * J.K. Simmons - General William Grey, a general in the US Army
 * Nicolas Cage - Russell Casse, an alcoholic crop duster and former military pilot who claims to have been abducted by aliens before
 * Alexandra Daddario - Constance Spano, the White House Communications Director and David's ex-wife
 * Elizabeth Banks - First Lady Marilyn Whitmore, President Whitmore's wife
 * David Harbour - Robert Feige, the Secretary of Defense
 * Chris Pine - Major Eric Mitchell, a USAF solider in charge of the operations at Area 51
 * Crispin Glover - Dr. Brendan Hopper, a paranoid scientist and conspiracy theorist who studies the Martians and their technology
 * Jack Black - Marty Gilbert, David's co-worker
 * Mark Wahlberg - Marine Captain Jimmy Wilder, another Marine pilot and Steve's best friend

Trivia

 * Joss Whedon was open to the idea of making the movie R-Rated, despite always aiming for a PG-13 rating.
 * In the original 1996 film, Julius Levinson is Jewish. In this version, Julius Levinson is portrayed as an extremely religious Christian.
 * Woody Harrelson was considered for the role of Russell Casse.
 * The Secretary of Defense, Robert Feige, is named after Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige. Joss Whedon previously worked for Marvel Studios, having directed The Avengers (2012) and its sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
 * The character of Major Mitchell did not have a listed first name in the original movie. In the remake, he is the given the name, Eric.
 * This is the third collaboration between Dwayne Johnson and Alexandra Daddario. The two previously appeared in San Andreas (2015) and Baywatch (2017).
 * Amy Adams was considered to play First Lady Marilyn Whitmore.
 * The studio contacted Will Smith, the star of the original Independence Day (1996), about making a cameo appearance in the movie, but he refused.
 * Because of the major height difference between the two actors, Zoe Kravitz was given a box to stand on for when she and Dwayne Johnson were on screen together.
 * This movie marks the first time Christian Bale has played the President of the United States. Bale previously portrayed former Vice President, Dick Cheney, in Vice (2018).
 * It was Bryan Cranston's idea for his character, a religious Christian, to hate profanity.
 * Dwayne Johnson and Jack Black previously appeared together in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017). However, in this film, they do not ever appear on screen together nor interact with each other.
 * Jesse Eisenberg joked that he felt "puny" standing next to Dwayne Johnson.
 * In the original film, Russell Casse was a Vietnam War veteran. In this film, because of the changing times between the original film and the remake, his character is rewritten as being traumatized by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
 * Christian Bale, Nicolas Cage, Jesse Eisenberg, David Harbour, Dwayne Johnson, Chris Pine, and J.K. Simmons have all played characters in movies based off DC Comics. Bale portrayed Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-12), Cage voiced Superman in Teen Titans Go! to the Movies (2018), Eisenberg portrays Lex Luthor in the DC Extended Universe (2013-), Harbour portrayed Dexter Tolliver in Suicide Squad (2016), Johnson is set to play Black Adam in the DC Extended Universe, Pine played Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman (2017), and Simmons portrayed Commissioner James Gordon in Justice League (2017), which Joss Whedon helped reshoot scenes for.