UPDATE: It looks like Mr. Brolin would indeed be playing a younger version of Jones’ K, with Will Smith’s J heading back in time somehow. To be fair, anything can work if handled properly, but at the moment, I for one am not a fan of this. Time travel is a gimmick and people don’t enjoy it unless it’s important enough to the story and if the reason for it makes sense. We’ve never seen time travel in Men in Black, so they would have to have a really cool reason for doing it. Does this mean that Jones isn’t coming back and they just wanted to retain the character?

Hero Complex has received word that Sony is considering Josh Brolin for a role in Men in Black III. No word yet on who the No Country For Old Men and Milk star would be playing in the movie, but whispers say that he could play a new recruit that one of MiB’s finest would have to train OR that he could be a younger Tommy Lee Jones character, though this is all speculation.

Men in Black III has not officially been greenlit yet, but they did hire Etan Cohen (Idiocracy, Tropic Thunder) to get the script written. All signs so far point to Will Smith being prepped and ready to return to the franchise if the ignition is fired up, but the return of Jones is still a big question mark.

As a big fan of these movies, this is exciting news. On the negative end of things: none of these possible roles sound all that great. If this movie is going to tear up the box office, it needs its original cast. Tommy Lee Jones’ K character’s dry persona played so perfectly off the wild behavior of Will Smith’s J character and that still feels like it’s a crucial ingredient to a third film. If you add Brolin in as a new villain or new character that’s not compensating for something else, and you bring me back the crucial characters and actors, then you’ll have me sold.

With no greenlight, there is not set date for the film yet, but if all goes well, Sony does want to begin production some time in 2010. Keep your fingers crossed.