"Independence Day 2" will feature a female president and it will be played by Sela Ward.
According to The Guardian, it is rare for major Hollywood films to have a female US president. The most famous example is Polly Bergen who starred as an unhappy president in the 1960s film "Kisses for My President."
Sela Ward was recently seen in "Gone Girl" alongside Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, and Rosamund Pike. The 58-year-old actress also starred in big budget Hollywood films including "The Fugitive", "The Day After Tomorrow", and "Runaway Bride." She also appeared in several television series such as "Sisters", "House M.D." and "CSI: NY."
Apart from having a female president, "Independence Day 2" will also feature gay lovers which is another rarity in big-budget Hollywood movies. Roland Emmerich, who is openly gay, revealed during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that they have a gay couple in the film.
"We don't make a big deal out of it. You start small and then you get bigger and bigger and bigger, and one day you have a gay character as the lead and nobody will wonder at it no more," the 59-year-old director said. "But we're not there yet."
"Independence Day 2" will bring back some of the original cast members including Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, and Vivica A. Fox. Many people were surprised when they found out that Will Smith won't return in the sequel. Roland Emmerich revealed to NY Daily News why they didn't get the 46-year-old actor.
"Will Smith cannot come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name," the director said. Fans will instead see the actor's on-screen son in the second installment. Jessie Usher will star as the son of Captain Steven Hiller. In the 1996 movie, another child star that stood out is the daughter of the President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman).
Mae Whitman starred as Patricia Whitmore in the first movie but the producers decided to get Maika Monroe to portray her character in "Independence Day 2." Anna Kendrick was allegedly pissed about the casting. "What the actual fuck? @maebirdwing is talented as hell, and JUST proved she can carry a film. Smh," she wrote on Twitter.
