Warning: SPOILERS for The Tomorrow War.
The Tomorrow War reveals that Will Smith is dead in the film's post-apocalyptic war-torn future set in the year 2051. Chris Pratt stars as Dan Forester, a biology teacher and former Green Beret who is drafted, along with countless other civilians, to time travel 30 years into the future and fight a hopeless war against alien monsters called the Whitespikes. The Tomorrow War has a similar premise to the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day but Amazon Prime Video's sci-fi action flick has a curious way of homaging ID4's star, Will Smith.
Chris Pratt followed a similar trajectory to stardom that Will Smith pioneered. Smith first made a name for himself as part of the iconic hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince before he transitioned to TV and starred in the hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But headlining Independence Day alongside Jeff Goldblum launched Will Smith into movie superstardom. As fighter jock Capt. Steven Hiller, Smith's cocky bravado won over audiences as he led the defeat of the aliens hellbent on destroying the Earth. Now a bonafide movie star, Smith headlined numerous hit films like Men in Black, Bad Boys, and Hitch. Like Smith, Pratt came to fame as Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation before starring as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, which cemented his movie star credentials.
The Tomorrow War drops an ode to Independence Day as soon as Dan Forester and his team of raw recruits time travel to 2051 and arrive on a rooftop in Miami, which has been totally destroyed in the conflict against the Whitespikes. As they gaze upon downtown Miami's ravaged skyline, one of the veteran soldiers, Dorian (Edwin Hodge), quips "Welcome to Miami." Charlie, a recruit who befriended Dan, replies, "I'm just glad Will Smith isn't alive to see this." Not only is the line a savvy namedrop of the star of the biggest alien invasion movie of all time, but the joke is also an eyebrow-raising admission that Will Smith is dead in The Tomorrow War's universe. Earlier, Charlie and Dan deduced that the adults over 40 chosen to jump to 2051 must already be dead in the future to prevent a paradox. This means Will Smith was either a draftee who didn't come back from 2051 or he already passed away during the 30-year interim.
Click here to watch 25 Things You Missed In Tomorrow War at YouTube
Amusingly, Will Smith being dead in The Tomorrow War's future echoes his character's fate in Independence Day: Resurgence. Smith chose not to reprise his role and headline the 2016 sequel, although the other stars of the original movie returned, including Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and Vivica A. Fox. Smith's Steven Hiller was written out and it was revealed his character died in an accident test piloting humanity's new fighter jets made with hybrid alien technology at some point during the 20 years between Independence Day and Resurgence. Instead, Hiller's adult son, Dylan Hiller (Jessie Usher), became a fighter pilot and helped defeat the second alien invasion the way his father would have.
The Tomorrow War's Will Smith joke is also layered since "Welcome to Miami" also references Smith's hit song from his 1997 album Big Willie Style. "Miami" received a huge amount of radio play and its music video was ubiquitous on MTV in 1998. The track charted at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it permeated pop culture at the apex of Will Smith's megastardom in the 1990s, as he followed up Independence Day with Men in Black, another blockbuster about fighting aliens. Obviously, The Tomorrow War owes a great deal to Independence Day, including its release date over July 4th weekend - the same three-day time period the aliens attacked in ID4. The Tomorrow War nodding to Will Smith was only appropriate, even though the Fresh Prince is sadly already dead by 2051's apocalyptic wartime.
The Tomorrow War is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
