'Independence Day: Resurgence' Trailer: The Aliens Are Coming, But Will Smith Won't Be Flying to the Rescue

A war long-thought over in a franchise long-thought dead, back for a return engagement decades later with a new generation of heroes and alien villains.

No, not Star Wars. We’re talking about Independence Day.

The first trailer for the sequel to the blockbuster 1996 alien invasion/disaster flick invaded the Internet on Sunday evening, bringing with it a heap of nostalgia and major hole to fill. (Watch it above.) Director Roland Emmerich’s follow-up, officially titled Independence Day: Resurgence, is missing original star Will Smith, who declined to return. A new website for the movie, warof1996, reveals the tragic way Resurgence will explain his absence: In the franchise’s timeline, Smith’s character, the hero pilot Steven Hiller, was killed in a 2007 crash while testing an alien hybrid fighter plane.

The trailer focuses on Smith’s on-screen partner Jeff Goldblum, who opens the clip with some exposition that sets up the new chapter. “Oh my God,” scientist David Levinson (Goldblum) says as he looks over a valley that seems to contain some evidence of a new alien invasion. “I spent 20 years trying to get us ready for this. We used their technology to strengthen our planet, but it won’t be enough.”

Bill Pullman getting hairy in the ‘Resurgence’ trailer

Bill Pullman, who played the inspirational President Whitmore in the first go-round, returns as well, this time sporting a shaggy beard and crazy eyes; he apparently has had a difficult time since the first invasion, when he so admirably rallied the world in a speech that plays over much of this new trailer. Judd Hirsch also returns as Levinson’s father, and from the trailer, is capably up to the task of looking absolutely terrified as the relentless aliens wreak havoc.

In other news, President Lanford is now in the White House; she’s played here by Sela Ward, an actress who has some experience in this genre, having played a scientist in 2004’s disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow. Presumably, she’ll get to give the inspirational speech this time around, though Independence Day costar Randy Quaid unfortunately is not going to get another chance to sacrifice himself by crashing into the alien mothership.

The tall task of filling Smith’s flight suit will go to Liam Hemsworth, who is coming off another huge action franchise, The Hunger Games. He has a lot to live up to, but maybe he’ll get some tips from Smith’s on-screen wife, Vivica A. Fox, who is returning for the sequel. Newcomer Jessie Usher also steps in as Hiller’s son Dylan.

Independence Day: Resurgence hits theaters on June 26.