Independence Day 2 Adds Jessie Usher As Step-Son Of Will Smith's Character

I think I trust my memory more than The Hollywood Reporter, so while they're saying Jessie Usher has been cast as the son of Will Smith's Captain Steven Hiller in Independence Day 2, I believe he's actually his step son. Like the original film, this sequel is going to weave together a few different plot threads and have quite a big cast of lead characters. Usher is playing just one of them, with Liam Hemsworth set to play another. We'll also be seeing a lot of the President's Daughter, played by Mae Whitman in the old film but now, if the filmmakers get their way, all grown up into somebody more Elizabeth Olsen-like. I wish they'd just give Whitman the role. Anyway, they can refer to Olsen as much as they like in their internal memos, I don't expect she'll actually take the role, not on top of The Avengers and Godzilla. She's too interested in making non-blockbuster stuff. Jeff Goldblum is definitely coming back too, which is good news. He's got some of the most idiosyncratic charm in Hollywood, and he's an asset to pretty much any production. Roland Emmerich will roll cameras on Independence Day 2 this May ahead of a release on June 24th, 2016 - just under 20 years after the July 3rd original. Expect both the film and the marketing to make a big deal of this 20 year gap.