Will Smith did not return to the sequel of Independence Day he headlined in 1996. While the whole gang got back together for the second installment, he stayed out. Not only his character Captain Steve Hiller got zero screen time, but the director completely wiped him from the storyline. Roland Emmerich killed the character offscreen, which means he won’t be able to come back if they make more sequels.

And this thing only happened because the actor did not receive the paycheck he asked for to continue with the franchise. Now when years have passed since the release of the sequel, his costar Vivica A Fox has finally broken her silence about his absence.

Vivica A Fox opens up about Will Smith being the key member 

Vivica A Fox recently sat down with A.V. Club to talk about her new true crime series, The Interrogation Room. In this interview, the actress took an opportunity to shed light on her 2016 movie Independence Day: Resurgence. She stated that the second movie failed to reach the bar that the debut film set upon its arrival.

And for this, she pointed out the name of Will Smith, putting forward her opinion about his absence. The 58-year-old believes that the movie didn’t turn out successful because he wasn’t a part of it. “We had most of the original cast, but I think the one true link that was missing to the success of ‘Independence Day 2’ was that Will Smith wasn’t there,” Fox added.

The Kill Bill star also recalled how fans were enraged when she revealed the news to fans about his exit at the time of the movie’s premiere. As of now, most of his fans think that the actor didn’t do this movie for money, but the reason is something else.

Oscar winner Will Smith had to make a tough choice 

Before the release of Independence Day: Resurgence, Will Smith interviewed with BBC Radio One. During the conversation, he was asked about his exit from the franchise. In his response, the 54-year-old star revealed that the reason behind him leaving the project was neither money nor lack of interest. The only thing that stopped him was his tight schedule, and he had to back out.

He said that he was occupied with some projects already, including Concussion and Suicide Squad. So he made this decision and chose the superhero film instead of this one. Well, all these things are a thing of the past now and the actor is shooting his upcoming movie Bad Boys 4.

What do you think about Fox’s take on his absence? Drop your comments below!