Earlier this week, we reported that It Follows’ Maika Monroe had been cast as President Bill Pullman’s daughter in Independence Day 2. This seemed like pretty standard news, since Monroe has been riding a solid hype wave after her performance in 2014’s The Guest. Also, we’re talking about Independence Day 2 here, so the cast is really secondary to seeing some landmarks get blown up anyway.
However, this being the internet, there will always be somebody who gets mad about stuff, and a twitter user named “AnnaKendrick47” is pissed about this casting news:
Apparently, AnnaKendrick47 is actually famous person Anna Kendrick, and she’s offended on behalf of Mae Whitman (yes, her) because Whitman played President Bill Pullman’s daughter in the original Independence Day film. The proof Kendrick is referring to is the fact that Whitman just starred in The DUFF, not to mention the fact that she was consistently one of the best parts of Parenthood, both of which should—in theory—indicate that someone is more than good enough to have a role in Independence Day 2. As for Whitman, she at least appreciates Kendrick’s support:
An article at HitFix theorizes that the role was recast because Whitman isn’t “a conventionally ‘hot’ type,” and it says this is “an ugly way of thinking, and an ugly way to cast a film,” which yeah, it definitely is. If that’s why the studio chose to go with Monroe, then that’s pretty gross. However, in defense of Independence Day 2, the role of Will Smith’s character’s son was also recast, so it’s possible that the studio simply didn’t care about who played the kids in the original movie.
Whatever the reason behind all of this is, we think Independence Day 2 owes something to Mae Whitman, and Roland Emmerich should let her pick one of the landmarks that gets blown up. It’s the least he can do.
[via MTV]