Come November 8th of next year, we could see our first Female U.S. president elected into office (Warren 2016!!). But five months earlier, we’ll see a lady in office in INDEPENDENCE DAY 2, and it’ll be Sela Ward filling the shoes once occupied by Bill Pullman’s Thomas Whitmore.
Ward’s debut was over 30 years ago in Blake Edwards’ THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN, but since then, she’s starred mostly on TV in stuff like SISTERS, HOUSE, and most recently, CSI: NY. She has made appearances of varying length in movies like 54, RUSTLERS’ RHAPSODY, THE FUGITIVE (as Richard Kimble’s doomed wife), and GONE GIRL (as the reporter Sharon Schieber). She’s also worked with Roland Emmerich before, having played Dennis Quaid’s wife in THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW.
She’s an underrated talent, one that I thought never got a fair shake despite her sultry, intelligent presence and still-jaw-dropping good looks. It’s great to hear about the new ensemble cast that Emmerich is putting together, other than his surprisingly controversial Young Hot Leads. One of the things I loved about the original ID4 was the disaster movie vibe that the extensive roster provided, and having new blood like Ward in the wings to flesh out the 20-years-later America of this sequel can go miles in making this feel like a new, original experience.
First Bill Pullman was the young, Dem. pres in Bill Clinton’s era, then Danny Glover was the POTUS in 2012, now Ward in the office smack dab in the middle of Hilary’s campaign? I guess Emmerich gets the paper…
INDEPENDENCE DAY 2 makes at least one big promise to liberals on June 24th, 2016.
