After the dynamic duo of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones headlined a trilogy of Men in Black movies released between 1997-2012, Sony attempted to take the hit sci-fi franchise in a fresh direction with the spinoff Men in Black: International, which tried to recapture the magic of Thor: Ragnarok by pairing Chris Hemsworth with Tessa Thompson. It did not deliver the desired results; International underwhelmed at the box office with just $253.8 million worldwide (a series low) and was critically panned. Since then, Men in Black has been left on ice, but Sony is once again attempting to bring it back. This time, they might have greater success, as a couple of exciting developments have taken place.
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According to Deadline, Bad Boys for Life writer Chris Bremner has been hired to pen the script for a new Men in Black movie. The ultimate goal is to convince Smith to return as his fan-favorite character Agent J. No deal with the actor has been made at this point in time. Deadline notes that “Smith is not attached to the project and will not commit to anything until he has read a script,” meaning he won’t sign on unless he’s impressed by Bremner’s work. Whether Smith would star or play more of a supporting role remains to be seen.
Why The New Men in Black Movie Could Work
Men in Black: International might have killed any enthusiasm fans had for future installments, but there are reasons to be excited about this newly announced film. For starters, Bremner seems like the perfect writer for the project. He previously revived a classic Will Smith action franchise with Bad Boys for Life, which earned positive reviews and grossed $426.5 million at the worldwide box office. Bad Boys for Life found success by tapping into the elements that made the series iconic, leaning into strong action set pieces and the natural chemistry between Smith and Martin Lawrence. If Bremner found a way to bring Bad Boys back from the dead, he could probably do the same for Men in Black.
It’s also encouraging to hear that the script is being written with Smith in mind. Going with a different cast for International was an understandable pivot (if that film had been a hit, Hemsworth and Thompson could have carried subsequent installments of their own), but all that spinoff did was illustrate Smith’s presence and charisma are vital ingredients to making the Men in Black films work. From a critical perspective, the franchise hasn’t been able to reach the heights of the 1997 original, but the installments featuring Smith have been box office hits. Men in Black 3 is the highest-grossing entry with $624 million globally. Smith’s involvement would generate interest in the new movie.
The odds of Smith signing on for the next Men in Black are high. He has plenty of experience with Bremner, who also wrote last year’s Bad Boys: Ride of Die (another box office hit that was generally well-received). Since the partnership has proven to be successful so far, there’s little reason to believe Smith wouldn’t be willing to give a new Men in Black a shot. Sony, the same studio that reaped the benefits of those aforementioned Bad Boys movies, would be happy to pair the two together again, knowing the combination can spin box office gold.
It’ll be interesting to see how the new Men in Black rounds into shape. Odds are, Sony doesn’t want this to just be a one-off. The studio would likely be interested in additional sequels if Bremner’s film warrants it. With that in mind, it might be for the best if Agent J is a supporting player this time around, taking a younger recruit under his wing and showing him the ropes. That would allow the new movie to work as a legacy sequel and soft reboot, appealing to older viewers with Smith while attracting a new generation of fans for the future.
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