Here come the Men in Black!
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Last month, Sony announced that the relaunch of the Men in Black franchise would be released on June 14, 2019. Now, the studio has taken another step towards making the movie a reality, releasing potential plot ideas and seeking out one of Hollywood’s best blockbuster directors.
According to Deadline, Sony is dead-set on F. Gary Gray directing the new Men in Black film. Gray wowed audiences with Straight Outta Compton back in 2015, and raked in over $1 billion for Universal last year with The Fate of the Furious. Provided he takes the job, Gray will be working with a script from Iron Man scribes Matt Holloway and Art Marcum.
While Sony may have seemed on the ropes this time last February, the studio scored one of 2017’s biggest hits at the very end of the year with Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. With the film still earning solid money around the world, Sony is eying Men in Black as it’s next staple franchise.
The pairing of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones has officially run its course, so Sony and Amblin will be looking to a new set of characters to take over the franchise. The relaunch of the franchise is said to be similar to Universal’s handling of Jurassic World. The new Men in Black will probably reference parts of the original trilogy, but none of the old characters will be back, at least not initially.
Yes, the franchise will be taking a new direction, but the overall concept will stay the same. Just like the original comic books from Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers, the new Men in Black will focus on a secret organization that is tasked with policing the alien population on Earth.
As of right now, the studio hasn’t released any potential casting information.
If all goes according to plan, Men in Black will hit theaters on June 14, 2019.