One of the most important things you have to have in a generation-later movie sequel is as many returning stars as humanly possible. In that regard, Independence Day: Resurgence did an admirable job. Bill Pullman returns as President Thomas J. Whitmore, and both Judd Hirsch and Jeff Goldblum are back as father/son duo David and Julius Levinson. Robert Loggia, who didn't even live to see Independence Day: Resurgence released, managed to make an appearance, and Brent Spiner showed up, too, even though we all assumed his character Dr. Brakish Okun died 20 years earlier.
The first and most obvious sign of trouble for Independence Day: Resurgence was not an issue of recasting, but an issue of a character not appearing at all. Despite the fact that Vivica A. Fox was back as Jasmine Dubrow, her in-movie husband Captain Steven Hiller, aka Will Smith, was nowhere to be found — in fact he was killed off, supposedly after Smith turned down the return.
But what really ruffled feathers of long-time Independence Day fans wasn't an absence of Hiller — it was the presence of two other characters played by new actors. Both Captain Hiller and President Whitmore have children, Patricia Whitmore (Mae Whitman) and Dylan Hiller (Ross Bagley). Both performers were replaced by Maika Monroe (It Follows) and Jessie T. Usher (The Boys), respectively.
While both Whitman and Bagley are technically still working actors, there's still exceptional criticism surrounding Mae Whitman to this day.
