Director Roland Emmerich revealed via Twitter that Judd Hirsch will be returning to his role as Julius Levinson, the cantankerous father of Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson, in Independence Day 2! Shortly thereafter he also revealed that President Thomas J. Whitmore himself, Bill Pullman, has also officially signed on!
Today we celebrate our #IndependenceDay sequel. Welcome back, Bill Pullman. pic.twitter.com/hR3qisg70i
— Roland Emmerich (@rolandemmerich) April 17, 2015
It’s official… we’re thrilled to have the GREAT Judd Hirsch grace the set of #IndependenceDay once again! pic.twitter.com/vSIEQsZwjb
— Roland Emmerich (@rolandemmerich) April 17, 2015
Pullman was seen last year in The Equalizer, while Hirsch made his name on classic sitcom “Taxi” and has more recently been a regular on IFC’s “Maron.” They join a cast that includes Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vivica A. Fox, Travis Tope, Joey King and Brent Spiner.
Set to hit theaters on June 24, 2016 (almost exactly 20 years after the original), Independence Day 2 is looking to begin production in May with a script most recently rewritten by Carter Blanchard (best known for the short-lived 2009 series “G vs E”). Previous drafts were done by Emmerich and Dean Devlin, and then by James Vanderbilt.
The original Independence Day opened on July 3, 1996 and earned an impressive $817.4 million worldwide. Emmerich is also set to produce the sequel alongside Devlin and Harald Kloser.
