Why Did Will Smith Choose Suicide Squad Over Independence Day 2?

[fan 4ever]

Will Smith was faced with a very tough decision last year. He could either zip up his flight suit and take on aliens once again in Independence Day: Resurgence, a sequel to his smash hit 1996 blockbuster ID4, or he could cover his entire face and blast aliens of a different race in DC Films' Suicide Squad. As we all know, he chose the later, and that seems to have been the better option.

Though, many wonder why he chose to go with Deadshot instead of Captain Steven "Steve" Hiller, USMC. Hiller did, after all, put him on the map as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars. But that may have been the problem. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor explains his decision in moving forward with a new franchise as opposed to returning to the past.

This Christmas, Will Smith stars in the spiritual sequel to his 2008 drama Seven Pounds with Collateral Beauty. It arrives in theaters just as Suicide Squad is coming home on VOD and Blu-ray. Speaking from Facebook headquarters, he told fans that he wanted, most of all, to go in a bold new direction. He explains.

"I had the two screenplays in front of me for the Independence Day 2and for Suicide Squad. I had to choose between the two of those. Even the choice of going to Suicide Squad, nothing about the qualities of the movie,but the choice of trying to go forward versus clinging and clawing backwards. I do want to aggressively go forward and do new things and create and hopefully be able to stumble upon a new heyday."

Because Will Smith didn't return in Independence Day Resurgence, director Roland Emmerich decided to have his character killed off-screen. So there's probably no chance Smith will return in the planned ID4 3, which might not even happen due to the twenty-years late sequel being a bomb at the box office. One Smith very narrowly missed. Even though some critics and a few fans had their issues with Suicide Squad, at the end of the day, it's being considered a hit for Warner Bros. and DC Films.

 

Suicide Squad arrives on the home market with an extended cut not seen in theaters. It puts over 10 minutes of new footage back into the movie, with Will Smith's Deadshot getting a little more screen time. There have been rumored that he'll show back up as Deadshot in Ben Affleck's The Batman, but that hasn't been confirmed. Smith is currently shooting the original crime drama fantasy Bright for Suicide Squad director David Ayer, which will debut on Netflix next year. He will then begin shooting Bad Boys 3, tentatively called Bad Boys for Life, with Martin Lawrence in the first half of 2017. Suicide Squad 2 is expected to be announced any day now. And it will surely bring Will Smith back into the fold, as he was a bright spot in the original. Collateral Beauty opens December 16 alongside Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Source: http://movieweb.com/suicide-squad-independence-day-2-will-smith-career/