Independence Day 2 confirmed, without Will Smith However, the film's cast is set to change. According to an interview conducted by the New York Daily Post with Emmerich, the sequel will not feature its predecessor's leading man, Will Smith: "Smith can not come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name. It would be too much. Roughly half the original cast will not return. Though Jeff Goldblum, who played Dave Levinson, MIT graduate turned lowly cable technician, will reprise his role. Devlin and Emmerich originally planned the sequel as a two-parter titled Independence Day Forever Part I and II. Whether the Independence Day series will feature a third film is, as of yet, unconfirmed.