Men in Black Star Tessa Thompson Wants the Franchise to Have a More Inclusive Name in the Future

The first round of showings for Men in Black: International begin tonight, and the film’s star [...]

The first round of showings for Men in Black: International begin tonight, and the film's star has some ideas for alternate titles. Tessa Thompson, the actor best known for playing Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Charlotte Hale on Westworld, has said that she wants the Men in Black films to be more inclusive to its women characters. According to the Washington Examiner, Thompson recently shared some ideas for a title change.

"I pitched some ideas like 'People in Black,' but that would be 'PiB,' which sounds like a sandwich. I pitched 'Humans in Black,' which would be 'HiB,' which sounds like something you don't want to get," Thompson said Tuesday during the movie's world premiere in New York City.

Thompson added, "I think we can change the name at some point. But the truth is, I think it's really significant, and I hope we can get to the space where it's not noteworthy when women topline these films, and I think a film like this helps us get there."

Men in Black: International was directed by F. Gary Gray (The Fate of the Furious, The Negotiator, Friday) and will follow our main protagonists as they are plunged into an alien-fueled murder mystery that sends them across the globe.

The new movie stars Tessa Thompson (Avengers: Endgame, Westworld), Chris Hemsworth (Avengers: Endgame, Bad Times at the El Royale), Liam Neeson (Widows, Taken), Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Big Sick), Rafe Spall (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Big Short), Rebecca Ferguson (Mission: Impossible - Fallout, The Greatest Showman), and Emma Thompson (Beauty and the Beast, Sense and Sensibility), who will be reprising her role as Agent O from Men in Black 3.

Unfortunately, the film's premiere did not result in the best reviews from critics. Currently, the movie has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in the franchise's history, coming in at low 29%. ComicBook.com's own Charlie Ridgely gave the film two out of five stars, calling it "clunky" and claiming it suffers from "mediocrity." You can read the full review here.

What do you think would be a good alternative name to Men in Black? Tell us in the comments!

Men in Black: International will be hitting theaters everywhere on June 14th.

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