10 Movie Franchises That Destroyed Themselves With ONE Decision

Though there was considerable audience interest in an Independence Day sequel which reunited the original main cast for another bout of alien-stomping mayhem, most of that enthusiasm drained away once Fox confirmed that Will Smith wouldn't be returning.

Roland Emmerich ultimately stated that Smith's asking price - allegedly $50 million for two sequels - was too high, while Smith claimed he had scheduling conflicts with Suicide Squad.

Either way, Smith's fighter pilot character Steven Hiller was given a lame off-screen death in Independence Day: Resurgence, and his stepson Dylan (Jessie Usher) was brought in as a howlingly transparent replacement.

Smith's absence left a colossal void of charisma that the rest of the cast, no matter their efforts, simply couldn't fill, and by killing Hiller off so definitively, there was little possibility of Smith ever being able to return in the future.

As a result, Resurgence was a major box office disappointment, grossing less than half of what its predecessor did two decades earlier and effectively killing the franchise outright.

If Fox had just ponied up the dough for Smith's star power, though, things could've been very different indeed, because it absolutely would've been far more profitable at the box office no matter its quality.

Instead, Fox basically sent the franchise out to die sans its featured star.