The Day After Tomorrow: Director Roland Emmerich recently spoke with USA Today about what to expect from his upcoming catastrophe film, The Day After Tomorrow, and though fans are making the comparisons to his 1996 blockbuster hit Independence Day, "Day" is truly a different film and not a continuation...

"Blowing up buildings is an image you don't want to see anymore," Emmerich says, referring to Independence Day's famous White House explosion scene. "The movie is quite different from Independence Day, and I don't want to repeat myself, to be honest. I wanted to make the movie because the mood is so different than Independence Day. I sometimes think the comparison will only hurt it."

While aliens were the enemy in Independence Day, in The Day After Tomorrow, the enemy is us. The film is a nightmare story not about what could happen but what will happen if global warming worsens and world leaders look the other way, Emmerich says.

"A catastrophe where nature is going wild has a totally different feel to it," Emmerich says. "I read a couple of books, and I said to myself, this could happen. You have to make it as entertaining as possible, but you still want to raise a warning flag."