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Will 'too expensive' to star in movie

Los Angeles - Will Smith won't be in Independence Day 2.

The After Earth actor was one of the lead stars in the 1996 original movie - which grossed a massive $817m worldwide - but he is unlikely to reprise his role in the follow-up film, which is due for release in 2015, because he's "too expensive".

Director Roland Emmerich told the New York Daily News: "Will Smith cannot come back because he's too expensive."

As well as being too pricey for the flick's budget, Emmerich insists the A-list star is too big a name for his movie - in which he plans to cast mostly unknown actors.

One of Hollywood's elite stars

He explained: "But he'd also be too much of a marquee name. It would be too much. We have like maybe half of the people that you would know from the first film [in the script] and the other half people who are new."

Since finding fame through his TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and movies such as the alien invasion blockbuster, Smith has become one of Hollywood's elite stars and regularly commands $20m for movie roles.

Although Emmerich has ruled out Smith for a role in the movie, it's thought his Independence Day co-stars Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum may appear in the sequel.

20th Century Fox recently confirmed the film's release for 3 July 2015 - 19 years.

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