Independence Day comes alive when a Twitter account streams a Fourth of July movie synopsis in real time.

One Twitter account is doing a live recap of the classic sci-fi action film Independence Day in honor of the Fourth of July. Released in 1996, Roland Emmerich’s alien invasion film ID4 was a huge summer hit, grossing $817 million worldwide. Starring Will Smith, Independence Day infuses classic science fiction with the story of an alien attack on planet Earth, furthering the alien invasion genre with special effects and raw action.

As Americans prepare to celebrate their independence on the Fourth of July, a Twitter account is paying homage to one of the great action movies of the ’90s by recapturing the original Independence Day movie in real time as if it really happened. I am getting Below you can see some tweets from the @1996ID4 account.

Although Independence Day was a box office success, Emmerich and his team failed to launch a series of films. When ID4 finally got a sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, it was in 2016 and Smith was no longer part of the cast. So it’s no surprise that the film was a flop, grossing only $389 million. Recently, Independence Day star Vivica A. Fox stated that the failure of the sequel was due to Smith’s absence. As he told The AV Club:

“I really feel like we missed an opportunity by not bringing Will Smith back. We had most of the original cast, but I think the real missing link to the success of ‘Independence Day 2’ was Will Smith. I want to be honest – I was at the premiere and I said, ‘Let’s see how the fans react.’ And he blasted me on Twitter.

Emmerich, on the other hand, said he has plans for Independence Day 3 in 2021 and hoped that, following the Disney-Fox merger, it would be possible to make the film on Disney+. However, scaling up Independence Day for the television screen would seem an ill-advised move considering how great the original film was and how much the big screen experience contributed to its success. Bringing Smith back may help revive the Independence Day series, but Smith is still largely sidelined by the Oscars scandal. With no plans in place, it appears the live-tweeting event is the closest thing fans will get to a fresh Independence Day experience.

Source: @1996id4/Twitter