All those who expected the Independence Day sequel to look good - raise your hand? Yeah, not many of you.

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I know I certainly wasn’t one of them - but today (ahead of its official premiere in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens), 20th Century Fox has released the trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence, the sequel to the 1996 alien invasion blockbuster.

I am dumbfounded to say how actually great this looks. It’s very, very clear that Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin understand exactly what made Independence Day so great, and are taking it to the next level here. Considering how awful their Godzilla was, I can’t say I expected this.

Most of the cast is returning - with Will Smith a very noticable hold out, who I can’t wait to see how they write around - but this looks like some big, dumb, explosive Summer fun. Basically, exactly the type of thrill ride you want when you throw down the cash at your local cineplex. I am, shocking even myself, really looking forward to this after this trailer.

As a bonus? Check out the The War of 1996 site created to detail the world in the twenty years since the original film. It’s actually a fun bit of alt-reality fiction.

Independence Day: Resurgence hits theaters on June 24, 2016.