Will Smith made the choice not to reprise his role as Captain Steven Hiller in the upcoming "Independence Day" sequel but learning about his character's fate was still tough to take.
An official website for "Independence Day: Resurgence" revealed Hiller died in a 2007 crash while testing an alien hybrid fighter plane.
"I was working on 'Suicide Squad' during that time," Smith told Yahoo! Movies about the scheduling conflict. "['Independence Day' director] Roland [Emmerich] and I had talked about it. The trailer looks really cool. I'm going to be sitting around with tears in my eyes when that one comes out... It was terrible when I found out my character died."
According to the website, titled "The War of 1996," Hiller became a global icon and the world mourned his loss. He is survived by his wife Jasmine (played by VIvica A. Fox) and son Dylan (played by Ross Bagley).
"Resurgence" will feature a few of Smith's co-stars from the original film including Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Brent Spiner and Fox. The sequel also stars Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joey King, Angelababy and William Fichtner.
"Independence Day: Resurgence" will premiere in theaters on June 24, 2016.
