Independence Day sequel finally lands cast

Will Smith is definitely out, but Jeff Goldblum WILL return for Independence Day 2. Joining him are Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher. In a twitter message, director Roland Emmerich gleefully announced the news:

Excited to Officially announce @LiamHemsworth and #JeffGoldblum as the next two pieces of the #IndependenceDay sequel pic.twitter.com/GNuvffKWI3

— Roland Emmerich (@rolandemmerich) March 4, 2015

The most recent draft of the screenplay was by Carter Blanchard. Initial talk of the film being split into two parts now appears to have been wide of the mark, with the movie scheduled for a summer 2016 release.

Goldblum played a computer nerd in the original, teaming up with Smith’s fighter-pilot Steven Hiller to fight off a horde of evil aliens. The film featured the iconic imagery of international landmarks being blown to smithereens using then state of the art special effects. This was, of course, all pre-9/11, so it will be interesting to see how the story will unfold this time.

Usher is best known for American TV series Survivors Remorse. He will be taking on the role of Hiller’s son, Dylan, who was played by Ross Bagley in the 1996 original. Hemsworth is a more high-profile addition to the cast having starred in The Hunger Games series.

Also rumoured to be coming back is Bill Pullman, who played US President Thomas J Whitmore and even managed to engage in aerial combat against the aliens.