If you missed it yesterday, the trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence dropped, and it’s pretty freaking cool. Set to launch in 2016, this sequel takes a look at life after the invasion in 1996 and surprise of all surprises, a new invasion is right around the corner. You didn’t think everything would be all peachy did you? It’d probably be a pretty boring sequel if there weren’t some new alien baddies to squash. If you haven’t seen the trailer yet, you can check it out below. We’ll chat more about what we see (and what we don’t) after that.
So first things first, Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson is still apparently the all-knowing expert about all things alien. He’s spent his time over the last 20 years adapting alien tech to improve our capabilities, but something out in the desert has Levinson rattled. We also see a bearded Bill Pullman (as now former president Whitmore), who seems to have more than a few lingering neuroses from Earth’s previous experience with Aliens.
One notable absence from the trailer? Will Smith’s Captain Steven Hiller. Hiller famously punched an alien in the face before dragging it back to the closest airbase in his parachute, then flew the secretly kept alien craft so that Jeff Goldblum could upload a virus to the mothership… Captain Hiller was really a pretty important part of the first story. Now, we know that Will Smith has got other things on his mind, such as a potential presidential run, but you’d think there might be some mention of Captain Hiller in Independence Day: Resurgence.
It turns out that the closest we’ll get is Captain Hiller’s son, Dylan (played by Jessie Usher). and wife Jasmine (Vivica A. Fox). Well, if we’re being completely accurate, Jasmine will actually be Captain Hiller’s widow. 20th Century Fox has released an alternate reality timeline for some notable events following the first invasion on the viral website, War of 1996. Here you can learn more about the alternate timeline following the events of the first film. Here you’ll learn that unfortunately, Captain Hiller was killed in a test flight on April 27th, 2007:
While test piloting the ESD’s first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Col. Hiller. Hiller’s valor in the War of ’96 made him a beloved global icon whose selfless assault against the alien mothership lead directly to the enemy’s defeat. He is survived by his wife Jasmine and son Dylan.
So, no Will Smith for us in Independence Day: Resurgence. With a character of Hiller’s magnitude and importance to the story of the first film, they really had to do something to explain his absence in the sequel.
Are you happy with the trailer? Do you like how they handled Will Smith’s absence from Resurgence? Tell us what you think in the comments below or on any of your favorite social media sites.
Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
