After years as a character actor in flicks as diverse as Black Hawk Down, The Dark Knight and The Perfect Storm, William Fichtner is finally landing major roles. The actor, last seen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, has signed on to play a top general in Independence Day 2.
Fichtner’s character will first appear in the next Independence Day sequel before becoming a more central player (possibly even the main antagonist) in the already-planned third and fourth movies.
It’s great to see Fichtner scoring bigger parts in blockbuster fare. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in which he played villain Eric Sacks, was a breakthrough pic for the actor, actually allowing him to showcase a dramatic range that has been reined in in his past projects.
In Independence Day 2, he’ll join a cast of fresh faces and familiar franchise players, including newcomers Maika Monroe (The Guest, It Follows), Jessie Usher (Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse), Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Sela Ward (The Day After Tomorrow), Travis Tope (The Town That Dreaded Sundown), Garrett Wareing (Boychoir) and Charlotte Gainsbourg (Nymphomaniac) alongside returning actors Judd Hirsch, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox and Jeff Goldblum.
The plot of Independence Day 2 is largely unknown, but it will of course find a new generation uniting to combat an alien threat. The movie is a tentpole pic for Fox, which is planning to reinvigorate the Independence Day brand with a new franchise and possibly even spinoff titles, depending on how well the first follow-up performs at the box office.
Independence Day 2 opens on June 24, 2016, with Roland Emmerich back at the helm.