He may not have been able to secure the services of Will Smith, but director Roland Emmerich has at least manage to secure the services of Smith’s on-screen wife Vivica A. Fox to reprise her role for the Independence Day sequel.

The director made the announcement via Twitter that Fox would be reappearing as her character Jasmine from the 1996 blockbuster. Fox has enjoyed a revival in her fortunes in the last couple of years, coming off a high-profile performance in the so-bad-that-it’s-good Sharknado 2: The Second One.

Vivica A Fox
Vivica A Fox will reprise her original role in 'Independence Day 2'

She’s also known for her role as one of Uma Thurman’s nemeses, Vernita Green, in Quentin Tarantino’s two-part martial arts fantasy Kill Bill. Fox shared her delight at the casting with her Twitter followers, saying “I am so excited n blessed 2 be part of this journey w u again! U opened the doors 2 my career!”

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It was first confirmed back in 2013 that Will Smith had proven too expensive to retain for a repeat performance, but Emmerich said at the time that he believed that the actor would have been “too much of a marquee name”.

Jeff Goldblum will be back to play his computing genius character in the sequel, as will Bill Pullman, who played the US President, but the fate of the post-alien-invasion world will be in the hands of a new set of heroes. Emmerich has signed Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth and relative newcomer Jessie Usher, who will play Smith’s character’s son.

The target is set pretty high for Independence Day 2, which is set for release on June 24th, 2016. The original became a perennial family favourite on TV screens around the holidays, and grossed $817.4 million at worldwide box offices.

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