Back in September, we reported that Will Smith has entered negotiations to star in Independence Day 2, although it seems that his deal is far from being finalized. In fact, director Roland Emmerich revealed that there are actually two versions of the screenplay, one with Will Smith's character and one without.

Here's what he had to say about the struggles he's faced with the sequel so far.

"A daily battle... The budget, the schedules, the actors."

Still, the director remains optimistic that Will Smith will sign on.

"It's looking good."

The filmmaker confirmed that writer James Vanderbilt, who also wrote the script for the director's summer action-thriller White House Down, has completed work on both versions of the Independence Day 2 screenplay.

He also said that their initial plan to split the sequel into two movies has been discarded.

"I thought about spending four years of my life on one movie and I didn't want to turn into something from the movie. It's a movie about aliens, I don't want to turn into an alien."

No story details have been revealed at this time, but we reported last month that rising star Michael B. Jordan is being considered for a major role, possibly the son of Vivica A. Fox's character from the original Independence Day. Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum are reportedly returning for the follow-up as well, but their involvement hasn't been confirmed.