Roland Emmerich Has Some Super Interesting Comments About Moonfall

If director Roland Emmerich had a trademark present throughout most of his filmography, it would be "worldwide catastrophe." From "Independence Day" to "2012," his movies tend to involve some kind of existential threat to humanity's existence, and there's only a small group of specialists who can save the day. For his newest film, Emmerich uses a danger that's all too familiar but may just have humanity take a second look at the night sky — the moon.

The appropriately titled "Moonfall" follows Earth upon learning the moon has fallen out of its gravitational orbit and is instead on a collision path with the planet. With that kind of description, the stakes are already high, but Emmerich spoke about how they're adding more to the pot than just that in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. Apparently, the moon isn't what we initially thought, as Emmerich teases that we'll learn the "true" origin of the moon in the forthcoming flick. But that's not the only thing to expect. Suffice to say, audiences should anticipate plenty of the director's signature destruction sequences because this film will be a wild ride. 

Naturally, things get thrown out of whack as the moon gradually gets closer to Earth, as Emmerich teased to Vanity Fair. He stated, "The moon naturally comes very close to Earth, and we have all this gravity craziness happening on Earth." You can get a taste of what this "craziness" entails by checking out the "Moonfall" trailer, which has all of the hallmarks of a classic Emmerich film. Naturally, the moon's displacement wreaks havoc on the Earth's tides, and it looks like debris will rain down from the sky. And yet, those events likely won't involve the craziest images we'll get out of the movie.

The director goes on to tease, "At one point the moon slides over New York and pretty much rips out a couple of the tall buildings — and they'll end up in the Rockies." Vanity Fair published an image of one of these sights, namely the Chrysler Building resting sideways on one of the snowcaps. It just wouldn't be an Emmerich movie without such a shot, as he says, "That's my signature thing anyway — famous buildings in places where they don't belong."

Looking at his filmography, it's readily apparent Emmerich loves destroying iconic landmarks from the White House in "Independence Day" to the Hollywood sign in "The Day After Tomorrow." It looks like he won't let up any time soon, so buckle up for more destruction when "Moonfall" hits theaters on February 4, 2022.