Will Smith 'Too Expensive' For 'Independence Day 2': What's The 'Wild Wild West' Star's Next New Movie, And Is 'After Earth' Hurting His Image?
The director of "Independence Day 2" Roland Emmerich has confirmed Will Smith will not be returning to the sequel, citing budgetary reasons, though the performance of "After Earth" is probably not helping things.
"Will Smith cannot come back because he's too expensive. But he'd also be too much of a marquee name," Emmerich told New York Daily News. "It would be too much."
"We have like half of the people that you would know from the first film. The other half are people who are new."
Currently, "Independence Day 2" is set for a July 3, 2015 release.
So what is the "Wild Wild West" star's next movie?
After the disappointment of "After Earth" in the box office, the 44-year-old actor will be a part of an ensemble cast in "Winter's Tale," the directorial debut of Akiva Goldsman.
The film, based on the novel by Mark Helprin, tells the story of a thief, a dying girl, and a flying white horse in 19th century and contemporary Manhattan.
According to Deadline, Goldsman considers the film a passion project because of its fantasy elements and "unabashed love letter to the city where he grew up."
The film also stars Colin Farrel, Russell Crowe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, and William Hurt.
Hopefully the film erases the recently sour experience Smith endured with "After Earth," which was not only panned by critics, but failed to perform up to par in box office performance.
"Here's how I think about it Jimmy, let's be honest. Three is the new one," Smith said during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel.
"It's been almost, like, two decades since I had a movie that wasn't number one!"