‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ Comic Book Prequel to Explain What Happened in the Last 20 Years

Independence Day: Resurgence appropriately takes place 20 years after the events of Independence Day, as the world has united to form the Earth Space Defense, using tech leftover from the last alien invasion to build weapons to defend ourselves from potential future attacks. But how did we get to that point, exactly? A new prequel comic will help fill in the gaps.

So far, we know that the sequel will reveal that the aliens were able to send a distress signal before their defeat in the first film, leading to another alien attack in Resurgence. THR reports that Titan Comics will release a prequel comic, though they don’t provide many details:

The as-yet-unnamed comic book will, according to the publisher, be “a rich psychological prison drama” set after the events of the original 1996 movie. Editor Steve White told THR that the series will be “a golden opportunity to segue nicely into next year’s blockbuster sequel by taking the mythos of the original and maybe adding a little darkness to it.”

No writers or artists have been announced for the prequel comic yet, so that’s all we have to go on for now.

Independence Day: Resurgence features original cast members Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox, Judd Hirsch and Brent Spiner, along with new additions Liam Hemsworth, Maika Monroe, William Fichtner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joey King and Sela Ward.

Roland Emmerich returns to direct the sequel, which hits theaters on June 24, 2016.