'Independence Day: Resurgence' not a sequel, says director

LOS ANGELES - The aliens may be back but film director Roland Emmerich says his new movie "Independence Day: Resurgence" is too different from the 1996 blockbuster sci-fi adventure to be considered a sequel. Emmerich directed the original "Independence Day", whose cast members Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Judd Hirsch return in this movie alongside new additions such as Liam Hemsworth. "It is now 20 years later since the world has been rebuilt and it has tried to get prepared for a new attack; there is a new generation however, many of the old guard are back as well," Emmerich told reporters about the film in Berlin on Thursday. "It is rather a continuation than a sequel because sequels you do after two or three years, and often it is not that different. I think this film is very different from the first." "Independence Day: Resurgence" hits cinemas worldwide from June 22. -Reuters