Sony Pictures has struggled a bit trying to figure out where to go next with their Men in Black franchise. Back in 2012 they talked about plans for Men in Black IV, a sequel to 21 Jump Street, and a Jumanji remake. The latter two we’ve since seen, but a fourth MiB never materialized. Then came the surprising rumor of a possible Men in Black and Jump Street crossover movie, which sounded like it might actually happen for a while with James Bobin attached to direct a couple of years back. There was also word that Sony was planning a new trilogy for the franchise along the way.

Now comes word that Sony is taking another step toward delivering a new movie in the series. They’ve entered into negotiations with F. Gary Gray to direct a reboot/spinoff of the franchise.

If you were among those excited by the thought of a Men in Black flick with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as their Jump Street characters, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. This is something completely different—though that idea is still being considered for the future, so all hope is not yet lost.

If a deal gets worked out with Gary Gray, the plan is to reboot the franchise with new characters and a new cast. It will, however, be part of the world established in the original MiB trilogy, which starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, making it a spinoff of sorts as well. Basically the same thing they did with Jurassic World as a reboot of the Jurassic Park franchise. Both that and this new Men in Black reboot are produced by Steven Spielberg through Amblin.

F. Gary Gray has had great success in recent years, with Straight Outta Compton and the latest Fast and Furious installment, The Fate of the Furious, doing big business at the box office. His other directorial credits include Friday, The Negotiator, A Man Apart, The Italian Job, Be Cool, Law Abiding Citizen, and a bunch of music videos for hit songs.

This past September is was announced that Sony was putting this new MiB on the fast track, after they received a script written by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum they deemed too good to wait on. Of the script, producer Walter F. Parkes said:

Marcum and Holloway’s previous screenwriting credits include the first Iron Man, Punisher: War Zone, and Transformers: The Last Knight.

If this movie is indeed going to happen and make the June 14, 2019 release date Sony has locked in, expect things to really take off from here with casting announcements coming fairly soon.

[Source: Deadline]

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