VIDEO: Independence Day: Resurgence trailer features a bigger badder alien ship

The first Independence Day: Resurgence trailer has been released, and it's exactly what you might expect. There are some familiar faces and even lines to tug at that shred of nostalgia.

In the 20 years since the aliens last appeared, both they and the people of Earth have been preparing for a return. But apparently one side did it better than the other.

Jeff Goldblum's David Levinson spent years trying to strengthen Earth's defences, even utilising alien technology in the process. But he fears that even that may not be enough. And our first glimpse at the new alien ship indicates why.

There's also a viral marketing site to browse, which invites you to reflect on all we've lost and how far we've come. This site also reveals the fate of Will Smith's Col. Steven Hiller, which you can find in the timeline below.

Independence Day: Resurgence will be released in summer 2016.

War of 1996 Timeline:

• By November of 1997, the world had begun to rebuild. The alien invaders had been neutralized, with the exception of “a small pocket of resistance in an isolated area of the African Congo”
• 3-17-1998: the leaders of the world’s major nations united, putting aside decades-old rivalries in the wake of the invasion
• 5-25-1998: the United States creates the Earth Space Defense program (ESD) as an extraterrestrial early warning system and global defense initiative. David Levinson (Goldblum) is named as director
• 1-8-1999: the ESD adapts alien shield technology to the F-22 Raptor, moving towards the creation of full Hybrid Fighters
• 6-22-2000: the city of Las Vegas, NV was completely destroyed in the war, and its ruins remain untouched as a reminder of all that was lost
• 8-10-2001: an isolated group of aliens in the African Congo — survivors of a downed City Destroyed — continue an underground war. The Congolese government continually refuses aid
• 10-23-2003: the U.S. Army fully adopts recovered alien weaponry for military application, quelling controversy with impressive displays of the weapons’ effectiveness
• 4-27-2007: Col. Steven Hiller dies during a test flight of the ESD’s first functional Hybrid Fighter, and the world mourns the passing of one of the War of ’96’s heroes
• 2-21-2009: the Earth Space Defense Moonbase opens and is monitored from Beijing, China. The base has both offensive and defensive systems and is the first of several planned planetary bases
• 6-4-2011: ESD Director Levinson highlights the advances in consumer technology inspired by alien tech, including “the touchscreen smartphone, bladeless fans, drones, and airport security scanners”
• 8-19-2014: the next generation of Hybrid Fighter is unveiled — the T4 Global Defender, the most advanced alien-tech hybrid vehicle yet