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“Independence Day 2: Resurgence” is all set to debut next month with most of the stars from the first installment returning. That list includes the likes of Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Judd Hirsch and Vivica A. Fox who will be joined by a couple of new faces in Liam Hemsworth, Jesse Usher and Joey King. Notably absent from the cast is one of the main protagonists from the original “Independence Day” film, Will Smith.

It does seem a bit odd that Smith is not in the mix though there is of course the real score on why he didn’t return. In fact the filmmakers had to prepare two scripts – one with Smith and the other without him. And as everyone knows by now it was the second one that will be used in the upcoming film.

So why was Smith not cast? The best person to ask is no other than director Roland Emmerich who was interviewed by Comic Book.

“In the very beginning, [Will Smith] was on board. He was actually very excited to do it but it got a little bit unlucky there. Even I needed kind of like two years to get through two scripts. We wanted to make two scripts because when we have Will we want to have two right away. We sent him the scripts just when he was doing After Earth and wanted to create his own trilogy and had just done Men in Black 3 which was not a good experience for him. So, he just opted out. And I pretty much opted out… It took me a couple of years until I could replace Will as not just one actor but a whole generation which is probably the breakthrough which was happening roughly two years ago…”

To his credit, Emerich has established himself as one of the most creative and successful directors in the film industry. He has proven himself in a variety of genres and has enjoyed blockbuster success with films such as “Godzilla,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “10,000 BC” and “2012.”

So how did they erase Smith? With the film taking place 20 years later, the storyline will reveal that Smith’s character (Col. Steven Hiller) died in 2007.

In his place will be Hemsworth (Jake Morrison) who was a hotshot fighter pilot that lost his family in the original alien attack.

Another key character will be the daughter of former President Whitmore (Bill Pullman), Patricia (played by Maika Monroe). She lost her mother in the original attack but now works in the White House for the current president played by Sela Ward. She is also taking care of her ailing father (Pullman) who is haunted by the psychic connection to the aliens established during the last invasion.