Independence Day: discover the alternate ending

Independence Day: Will Smith vs. Aliens

In 1996, Roland Emmerich, the undisputed king of disaster films, directed Independence Day. A science fiction blockbuster in which an alien threat descends on Earth. To defend it, the United States can count on Captain Steven Hiller interpreted by Will Smith (a choice of casting that the director defended at all costs).

When it was released, the film was a resounding success. Indeed, for a budget of 75 million dollars, the feature film brings in more than 800 at the global box office. It dominates the American box office in 1996, before Twister and Impossible mission. A success that will not be able to reproduce its sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, released in 2016.

The alternate ending of Independence Day

To end the alien threat, scientist David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) comes up with the idea of ​​uploading a computer virus to the Aliens’ mothership. By doing this, he defeats the shields of all the other ships that threaten the Earth.

The counterattack was therefore launched on July 4, and the air pilots engaged with their F-18s and their missiles. But quickly, the machines are destroyed by alien shuttles entering the brawl, and no more missiles are available. That’s when Russell Casse, a civilian who had volunteered for the mission, disembarks with two working missiles. But one of them is blocked. He then decides to sacrifice himself by propelling his F-18 into the Alien ray transmitter.

In the alternate ending, Russell Casse was not flying in an F-18 but in his little red biplane that we could see at the start of the film. Two missiles were hooked on each side of the wings, which means that he had planned to sacrifice himself, since the plane did not have a thruster to send the missiles.

It can be seen below:

Roland Emmerich found the sequence less moving than the one in the film, when the pilot chooses to sacrifice himself when he realizes his missile is blocked.