Roland Emmerich describes the success of his Independence Day as "a miracle".
The Germany-born filmmaker found success with big-budget Hollywood blockbusters like 2012, The Day After Tomorrow and Godzilla, but it's for his 1996 Will Smith film that he's best known.
And now, the sequel Independence Day: Resurgence is upon us.
"I don't like sequels; I really don't like them," says Emmerich.
"I'm always drawn to original stories. I come up with them myself. So with Independence Day: Resurgence, I didn't want to just do the same thing again. The movie is quite different than the first one. Film visual effects technology also had to change to be able to do what I had in my head."
A recurring theme in Emmerich's films is the end of the world, or the USA at least, and the destruction of many of the nation's monuments.
"It started with old scriptures. When you look at the Bible, it's all about the end of the world in a way -- Armageddon and all these things," says Emmerich.
"I think we're just fascinated with our own demise and I think it has a little bit to do with the fact we all have to die. A collective survival is very important for us; it's important for me. You can teach people a lot of lessons in telling these stories."
Independence Day: Resurgence opened in New Zealand cinemas on Thursday.
Newshub.
