Independence Day “My Street” was a disconcerting website that let fans see what their neighborhood might look like following a Roland Emmerich sized apocalypse. While Emmerich made movies before Universal Soldier, that particular Jean-Claude Van Damme/Dolph Lundgren vehicle broke him through to the mainstream. He followed it by directing Stargate, a fun sci-fi adventure starring Kurt Russell and James Spader that spawned a long-running television franchise.
Independence Day is probably his most popular movie, which sees an alien fleet arrive on Earth and start blowing up landmarks; it’s up to Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum to take the fight to them. All of Emmerich’s trademarks were featured, including big explosions, stock characters, and cheesy dialogue. Emmerich’s subsequent filmography is a mixed bag, ranging from his infamous 1998 Godzilla to The Day After Tomorrow and bizarre Shakespeare biopic Anonymous.
Independence Day: Resurgence was a long time coming, arriving 20 years after the original. Will Smith was in talks to return, only to depart for Suicide Squad instead. Emmerich has since admitted some regret about pressing ahead with Resurgence, feeling the script suffered from Smith’s absence. Most critics and viewers would probably agree as the sequel received mediocre reviews and box-office. To promote the sequel, 20th Century Fox put together Independence Day “My Street,” which was basically a version of Google Street View that lets fans around the world see what their street would look like following some Emmerich-style alien destruction.
Sadly, the Independence Day “My Street” site is gone now, but outside of its somewhat morbid concept, it was a creative piece of marketing on behalf of the studio. All users had to do was type in their own address, and they’d be taken to a street level of a full-force alien invasion of their street, featuring burning rubble, downed fighter jets and alien ships whizzing by overhead. Despite the level of chaos being unleashed, it felt more like a video game simulation than the real thing.
Still, Independence Day “My Street” was an entertaining gimmick that fans of the series had fun with. While Independence Day: Resurgence was aiming to kickstart another movie that would have seen Earth taking the fight to the aliens, the sequel just wasn’t popular enough. The long wait between entries and lack of Will Smith added to its woes, which is something that also afflicted 2019’s soft reboot Men In Black: International. Thankfully, the forthcoming Bad Boys For Life will see both Smith and co-star Martin Lawrence back in their famous roles.
Next: Why Independence Day 3 Hasn’t Happened
