Independence Day 2 Casts Jessie Usher Instead of Will Smith

Will Smith will not be seen in the sequel of Independence Day.

The lead of Starz’s series Survivor’s Remorse, Jessie Usher will now be seen in the upcoming sequel of Independence Day 2. 21st Century Fox will be making this sequel and has chosen Jessie Usher to do so. Apart from Jessie Usher, Liam Hemsworth has also been cast in a lead role along with Jeff Goldblum who will reprise his role from the original movie.

Bill Pullman will also be seen in the sequel as President Thomas J. Whitmore. The original sci-fi movie was released nearly 20 years ago with Will Smith playing the lead role. The movie at that time had grossed more than $800 million worldwide at the box office. Moreover Ronald Emmerich has been retained as the director for this sequel. The list of producers includes Dean Devlin, Ronald Emmerich and Harald Kloser. 

Independence Day 2 has been set for release on June 24, 2016 which is almost exactly 20 years from when the first movie had hit the theaters back in July 3, 1996. Moreover this also means that production is likely to start within a few months and we will have more news about the movie.

If you remember, it was this movie that had helped Will Smith establish himself as a star and had kicked his career up to the next level. So this sequel is a very big chance for Jessie Usher who will be playing the central character in the new film as the son of Will Smith’s character.

This is a big step for Jessie up the stardom ladder and it will determine his future in the industry. However this time Will Smith’s son will not be the lead character but a central character. Even then it is a big step for Jessie Usher. 

Currently Jessie Usher stars in the Lebron James produced Starz series Survivors Remorse. Usher plays the character of Cam Calloway who basically is a basketball player moving with his family to Atlanta after he signs a pro contract. The first season of the series had aired back in October 2014 and with its popularity Starz had quickly renewed the show for a second season. The second season will air later this year. 

Jessie Usher’s film credits include TriStar football drama When the Game Stands Tall which was seen in theaters in August. Apart from that on the TV side he was just recently seen in the Cartoon Network’s series Level Up. Apart from this since 2005 Usher has been seen on several shows such as Without A Trace, Hannah Montana, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist. The rising star is repped by Paradigm and Williams Unlimited. 

Sources: THR , CB