Twenty years since the events of ID4( aka Independence Day) , humanity has been preparing for an inevitable return of the malevolent extra-terrestrial race that nearly decimated our world in 1996. United by their brush with annihilation, nations around the world worked together as one people to rebuild what was lost – and establish agencies to plan for future attacks.
As director of the Earth Space Defense program, MIT graduate-turned-cable technician-turned world-saving computer hacker, David Levinson ( Jeff Goldblum) , utilized crashed alien ships and systems to develop new weapons, detection systems, and defensive measures for protecting Earth from outside threats.