Mae Whitman Was Replaced in Independence Day 2 and That's Really Gross, Hollywood

It seems that Fox cast Maika Monroe as the president's daughter because the Parenthood star wasn't conventionally attractive enough

By Jenna Mullins Apr 29, 2015 5:18 PMTags
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Hollywood, come over here so we can slap you upside the head like a mom who caught her son skipping school. Only we'll hit you harder.

Fox recently announced that it had cast Maika Monroe, fresh off her star-making turns in It Follows and The Guest, in Independence Day 2 to play the president's now all-grown-up daughter. There's just one problem: the flawless Mae Whitman played Bill Pullman's kid in the original Independence Day, so why was her part handed off to someone else?!

It's not like Whitman is one of those child actors who went off the rails or just gave up acting. She's now more successful and talented as ever with roles on Arrested Development, Parenthood and don't forget her lead in the hit film The Duff.

So what the hell, Fox?!

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, Whitman wasn't even on the "short list" of actresses they wanted for the role, a role that will also serve as a love interest for Liam Hemsworth's character. That short list included other pretty blonde girls, like Gabriella Wilde and Britt Robertson. And while Monroe is certainly talented and will probably be really good in the sequel to the 1994 blockbuster, the fact that Whitman wasn't even considered makes our blood boil.

C'mon. We all know why Mae Whitman was replaced: she does not have the look of what we call the "Transformers dolls," meaning she's not the bombshell hottie with a body that usually makes up most action movies.

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Which is just f--king ridiculous because Mae Whitman is stunning. Gorgeous. Have you seen her?! And beyond that, she's so damn talented and witty and smart. Why wouldn't we want someone like that starring in an action movie and falling in love with hunky Liam Hemsworth? We do want that, and according to Twitter, countless other people want that, too, including Queen Anna Kendrick:

And we'd maybe understand this decision a little bit if they had replaced the original cast completely. But nope: Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox and Judd Hirsch are all reprising their roles.

HitFix wrote a powerful essay about this Hollywood crime, and Mae Whitman retweeted it, so you know she's not oblivious to what's going on here. It's possible she was offered the role and turned it down or maybe she was unavailable, but then why retweet an article about being replaced by someone "hotter" or "more conventionally attractive?" Again, we'd like to remind everyone that we think that Whitman is both "hot" and "very conventionally attractive," but we're not the ones running Hollywood. But maybe one day...mwuahahahaha!

Anyway. Screw that noise, Mae. Director Roland Emmerich just showed his hand with this casting decision, so we'll be interested to see how that affects the public opinion and perception of Independence Day 2 as the film heads toward production.