Will Smith's Steve Hiller is dead in Independence Day: Resurgence

The first trailer for Independence Day: Resurgence dropped online over the weekend, and if you've watched it, you may have noticed a lack of a certain pivotal character from the original 1996 movie - Will Smith's Captain Steve Hiller. But this isn't 20th Century Fox giving Hiller the 'Luke Skywalker' treatment; according to the viral site for the film dubbed The War of 1996, Smith's character is dead.

Check out the 'news report' below...

The corresponding blurb explains what happened: "While test piloting the ESD’s first alien hybrid fighter, an unknown malfunction causes the untimely death of Col. Hiller. Hiller’s valor in the War of ‘96 made him a beloved global icon whose selfless assault against the alien mothership lead directly to the enemy’s defeat. He is survived by his wife Jasmine and son Dylan."

This presumably indicates that fans shouldn't count on a Smith cameo, although it's never out of the question. It's a bummer that Smith won't be a part in Resurgence - his charismatic performance is one of the reasons why the original is so watchable. Here's hoping he won't be missed too much come June.

Directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Liam Hemsworth, Vivica A. Fox, Judd Hirsch, Joey King, Sela Ward and Maika Monroe, Independence Day: Resurgence will open in the UK and US on June 24, 2016.

Images: 20th Century Fox

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.