Will Smith will not be back for the "Independence Day" sequel but President Whitmore will be. Bill Pullman, who played the president of the United States in the alien invasion movie hit has been confirmed to be part of the sequel's cast. Joining him is Judd Hirsch who played the father of Jeff Goldblum's character in the original film. The announcement was made by director Roland Emmerich who is also returning to direct the film. The confirmation was made by the director on his Twitter account.
The first movie was released in 1996 and the sequel will be released a little less than 20 years after Independence Day. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters in June 2016. New faces will be joining the cast for the new film including Jessie Usher. The "Survivor's Remorse star" will be portraying the son of showboating pilot played by Will Smith in the original movie. Liam Hemsworth of "The Hunger Games" and "Expendables" fame is also a new face to join the franchise. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Travis Tope, and Joey King are also confirmed to be members of the cast in the sequel.
Joining Bill Pullman and Judd Hirsch as returning cast members from the first film are Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, and Brent Spiner. The sequel is looking to bank on the return of the old guards and the infusion of new blood to gain success in the box office. It has big shoes to fill after all as the first movie made more than $800 million and has become a part of pop culture especially the speech delivered by Bill Pullman's character.
The return of said character has been rumored in the past but remained unconfirmed until the director took to the micro blogging platform to announce Pullman's involvement in the sequel. So whether the fact that Will Smith will not be coming back and that there's a new character will appeal to new moviegoers or not remains to be seen.
Join the Conversation