A massive flying saucer invades Earth's sky, releasing an infinite number of smaller saucers that take position above the world's largest cities. A New York computer scientist deciphers the signals coming from these strange travelers. Verdict? They are not at all friendly and these extraterrestrials are preparing to attack Earth. This pitch, which is that of the classic science fiction film Independence Day, directed by Roland Emmerich, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The film, rich in high-quality special effects, is led by Will Smith, who confirmed his status as an international star shortly after his role in Bad Boys. Originally, the studio 20th Century Fox did not want Will Smith, as they were not convinced by the success of Bad Boys. Roland Emmerich stated in 2021 to The Hollywood Reporter that Ethan Hawke was also on their list, but he believed at the time Hawke was too young. Emmerich said it was clear that it had to be Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum. The studio reportedly said they did not like Will Smith, as he had not proven himself and did not work on international markets. Co-screenwriter Dean Devlin revealed another argument supported by the studio, stating they told the team, "If you take a black actor for this role, you will kill the foreign revenues." Devlin argued that the film is about extraterrestrials and would be successful abroad. Emmerich said he fought to have Will Smith in the role, and in the end, he was pleased with the outcome. He stated that he had fought several times in his career to impose his choices, and that as a director, it is necessary to have guts and impose oneself. Independence Day was a huge box office success, earning $817 million in worldwide revenues and attracting more than 5.6 million viewers in France. Emmerich described the film as more in the line of the disaster films and war films of the 1950s than in that of science fiction films of the same period. He said the scripts of the 1950s films were influenced by the birth of the atomic age, and that he was inspired by films such as The Tower of the Damned, The Adventure of Poseidon and The Longest Day. The film is available on Disney+ platform.