Peacock’s new “Gladiator”-esque, swords and sandals epic series, “Those About To Die” starring Anthony Hopkins and many more, is out in the world and available on the streaming service now (read our review), and so this week, it’s director and executive producer Roland Emmerich stopped by our Bingeworthy TV podcast to discuss the series and more.
That full podcast will be out tomorrow, but as we all know, Emmerich is also well-known for his sci-fi films and epic disaster movies, so we talked to him about his entire career, including “Independence Day,” “Stargate,” “Godzilla,” and more.
READ MORE: Roland Emmerich Planning Elaborate Reboot/Sequel Trilogy For ‘Stargate’
Could there be another “Independence Day” movie? Could Will Smith somehow possibly return? According to Emmerich, I wouldn’t count on it.
“Well, yeah. I’ve been like, ‘He died in number two!’” Emmerich said of the decision to kill off Smith’s character off-screen because a deal for him to reprise the role couldn’t be met (Smith apparently wanted an exorbitant amount for two sequels). “But also, Disney now has the decision to make it, which is even worse, you know, because they never ever did my deal.”
OK, you can probably cross that one off your list. OK, what about the mooted “Stargate” series that was rumored during the PeakTV streaming era and seemingly going to come from Prime Video? Well, Emmerich confirmed it was in development but said the project was dead.
“Too many cooks,” he said. “I would say. Because I’m always used to—I have an idea, I can write a script or a story. I can involve [“Stargate SG-1” characters] Dean [Newman], and Harold [Maybourne], or anybody, you know? And I’m kind of totally concentrated on that. And the moment I already have to show this to other people… it’s all ready for me like [eh, less interesting]. So, yeah.”
Back in the day, Emmerich was also in the mix to direct “Alien Vs. Predator,” but the German filmmaker said his idea was too big and too expensive and was soon shot down (“Alien Vs. Predator” films were known for being quick cheapies).
“It was like just an idea, a pitch to somebody, he explained. “And the movie budget [would have been] at least $150 million at that time. And they were just not going for it, you know? And the right situation was a little bit tricky because it was with two [studios]. And later, they did it successfully, I think. Not really successful, but they did it. But I was way too early because when I saw “Alien,” I kind of said, ‘Oh my God, why not go against the Predator? It’s these two things that just fit together!’”
So, did Emmerich first come up with the idea, and did the studio use it? “Yeah, sure,” is all he continued. “But it’s like, there’s so many ‘Alien’ movies. There are so many. Yeah, they’re on their own course. I mean, they don’t need me.”
Stay tuned, the full Bingeworthy podcast conversation will be rolled out tomorrow. – additional reporting by Mike DeAngelo.