First 'Independence Day 2' Synopsis Revealed

Independence Day helped define the modern summer blockbuster and earned Will Smith the nickname Mr. July (for a while, anyway). It’s easy to forget that there was a time when summer movies weren’t always superhero flicks and action movies and disasterpieces. And now the man who gave us Independence Day is back again with Independence Day 2, the long-awaited, long-developing sequel which will finally arrive in theaters next summer. We know who’s in it, but what is it about, exactly?

Collider obtained an info sheet for Independence Day 2, which Fox is promoting at next week’s Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, and while this may not be the final official synopsis, the plot isn’t all that surprising:

After Independence Day redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global catastrophe 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.

This sequel is said to take place 20 years after the events in Independence Day, which hit theaters in 1996. Returning for the sequel are Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Brent Spiner Vivica A. Fox and Judd Hirsch, alongside Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe, Jessie Usher, Joey King, William Fichtner and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Independence Day 2 hits theaters on June 24, 2016.