20th Century Fox tonight celebrated the 20th anniversary of Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day with a special screening of the 1996 sci-fi blockbuster on the studio lot in Century City, California. The film, which also gets a Blu-ray re-release this week, will soon get its long-awaited sequel when Independence Day: Resurgence hits the theaters on June 24. Returning stars Vivica A. Fox and Jeff Goldblum joined Emmerich himself for a special pre-film Q&A. It was there that Emmerich announced that he’s currently developing a Battle of Midway movie.
The Battle of Midway began on June 4, 1942 and saw the United States Navy, over the course of the following several days, decimate an attacking Japanese fleet. Shortly thereafter, director John Ford produced an 18-minute American propaganda documentary that details the key elements of the battle. You can watch the public domain Battle of Midway movie in the player below, courtesy of the Internet Archive.
Roland is no stranger to historical tales. He directed the 2000 American Revolution feature The Patriot and, just last year, the true civil rights drama Stonewall.
“At the time, the Americans were the underdog,” Emmerich told the crowd. “It was one of those moments where, against all odds, people came together and did the impossible. A lot of pilots died in this battle. I want to make a monument to them and it would be great to make a movie about it.”
