Vivica A. Fox Is Making History With Her Latest Role

In the upcoming indie sci-fi flick Crossbreed, Vivica A. Fox will play a president who sends war veterans on a mission to retrieve an alien whose DNA is being used to make weapons. Aside from sounding extremely complicated, her role is highly significant. According to Mashable, this is the first time a black woman has played a U.S. president in a live-action film. Director Brandon Slagle told The Hollywood Reporter that it was Fox's "commanding presence" and ability to "light up a room" that made her perfect for the role. "Our President is positive and proactive, not the grim figure as is usually portrayed in these types of movies," he said. While there doesn't seem to have been a black woman president in a movie yet, there have been female presidents on screen. According to Mashable, the first was all the way back in 1953, when Patty Duke played the president in Project Moonbase. So, as usual, things have progressed faster in fiction than they have in reality. It makes sense: Science fiction is meant to be futuristic. Hopefully, this is one case where sci-fi's predictions will come to fruition — aside from the alien DNA weapons, that is.