'Independence Day: Resurgence': Roland Emmerich On Nastier Aliens And The Death Toll [Interview]

Yesterday the Super Bowl spot for Independence Day: Resurgence teased destruction on what seems to somehow be a larger scale than the first film from 20 years ago. Today begins the first of our series of interviews from the set of the sci-fi sequel, talking about what we can expect 20 years after what has been dubbed the War of 1996, and kicking things off is director Roland Emmerich.

From the moon base of Earth Space Defense, Emmerich talks about the death toll from the first film, which is pretty staggering, what that has inspired in humanity around the world, and what we can expect from the aliens this time around, which includes digital aliens instead of practical effects. Plus, the director gives me permission to take home one of the biggest props from the set, but there's a catch.

Speaking about the aftermath of the events of Independence Day, Emmerich compares the world that has evolved from the tragedy of the War of 1996 to that of World War II. In the wake of such devastation and death comes a sense of unity where a lot of people have had their lives influenced by war:

Like 2 or 3 billion people died, so everybody lost someone, and that's a different world. And it's also a world which knew they were coming back, because they found evidence. So it's this world that finally had to really unite, but this is in a very organized way. So now we have the greatest nation, with the biggest nations of the world, work together in a defense program. And that is a quite different world, and a kind of interesting world.

When asked about how the aliens will attempt to crush the human spirit and this new sense of unity in the world, Emmerich says:

Well, they're kind of nastier, than the first ones. This time they're CG. With the first one, it was kind of wiggling shit, and we had little puppets. And now we have a company like WETA, who does the best creature work, working with us. So that's exciting to me.

Finally, Emmerich says I can take home the new Moon Tugg vehicle that you can see me with right here:

However, the logistics might proved to be difficult since the only way I can have it is to pay for shipping. And since it weighs 40 tons, I may need to take out a loan for that. For more from the Roland Emmerich interview, check out the full video right here:

We always knew they were coming back. After "Independence Day" redefined the event movie genre, the next epic chapter delivers global spectacle on an unimaginable scale. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens' advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

Independence Day: Resurgence arrives on June 24.