Independence Day 3: Why The Trilogy Was Never Finished

Some franchises end because they said everything they had to say. Independence Day ended because the door was left open a little too confidently. The 1996 original became a pop-culture event overnight, but the follow-up didn’t arrive until two decades later with Independence Day: Resurgence . And instead of giving the saga a clean finish, the sequel teased a much bigger war – one that was clearly meant to continue in Independence Day 3.

That’s the strange part: the setup for a trilogy is right there on screen. Humanity has alien tech, the invaders are still out there, and the final scenes practically scream “next chapter.” So why has the trilogy never been finished and is there any realistic path left for Independence Day 3 to happen?

Resurgence’s Ending Basically Promised Independence Day 3

Independence Day: Resurgence doesn’t just tease “the aliens might return someday.” It lays down an entire roadmap. Earth has rebuilt using salvaged alien tech, the invasion reveals there’s a much larger conflict in the galaxy, and the mysterious Sphere introduces the idea of a wider alliance of species that have been fighting these invaders for ages.

The sequel even shifts the franchise’s scale on purpose: the threat isn’t just “defend Earth again,” it’s “take the fight to them.” In other words, Independence Day 3 wasn’t meant to be another holiday-weekend repeat – it was set up as the moment the series leaves Earth behind and goes interstellar.

That direction wasn’t just fan speculation, either. Around the time of Resurgence, Emmerich openly talked about a third movie as a bigger, off-world continuation, keeping key characters in the mix instead of doing another decades-later time jump.

Independence Day 3: Why The Trilogy Was Never Finished

The biggest reason is the simplest one: Resurgence didn’t perform like a film that launches a new trilogy. Yes, it made real money worldwide – but the gap between “global total” and “studio-happy success” is massive once you factor in the budget, marketing, and expectations for a legacy sequel. Domestically, the movie stalled out early, and the overall run landed in that awkward zone where a studio can easily decide the risk of another giant installment isn’t worth it.

On top of that, the response was mixed-to-negative enough that the hype didn’t grow after opening weekend – which is exactly what a franchise needs if it wants a third film greenlit quickly. Instead of becoming a new starting point, Resurgence became a “maybe we should stop here” moment.

Behind the scenes, the sequel also had a very public “what could’ve been” narrative. Will Smith’s absence forced big story changes, and Emmerich later admitted he regretted moving forward once that original plan collapsed – basically acknowledging the movie that arrived in theaters wasn’t the version he wanted to make. When the director is second-guessing the sequel after release, it’s not exactly the momentum you want going into a third installment.

Then there’s the corporate reality shift: the Independence Day movies were a 20th Century Fox property, and Fox’s film business changed hands. When ownership changes, “maybe someday” projects are often the first ones to get put in a drawer, especially if the most recent entry didn’t become a must-continue hit. Even the people closest to the franchise publicly cooled on the idea, with producer Dean Devlin saying he personally had no plans to do another one.

Tell us: Would you have wanted a complete trilogy or did you watch Resurgence and decided "Well, might as well call it quits here?" Let us know in the comments!