‘Men in Black’: New Film in the Works at Sony

Sony is hoping to extend its Men in Black franchise with a script worth remembering.

via: Deadline

After successfully relaunching the Bad Boys franchise, Sony Pictures looks to be ready to dust off its black suit and shades as a new Men In Black film is now in development. Sources tell Deadline that while no talent is attached yet, Bad Boys For Life writer Chris Bremner is on board to pen the next installment in the sci-fi comedy franchise.

Sony Pictures had no comment.

Plot details are unknown, but insiders tell Deadline that the idea is once Bremner has finished the script, original series star Will Smith would be one of the first to receive it in hopes he would reprise the role of Agent J. It is unknown how the character would be featured — whether it’s a starring role or more of a supporting/passing-of-the-torch type role we have seen in films like Creed — but the plan is to have the character back in the first draft.

That said, sources stress that Smith is not attached to the project and will not commit to anything until he has read a script.

Like the Bad Boys franchise, Men In Black is seen as a valuable property at the studio following the success of the 1997 original. The franchise has earned a collective $1.904 billion globally at the box office (counting the original, two sequels and 2019’s reboot MIB: International).

The new film is still very early development so no producer deals are in place, but all previous MIB movies were produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, with Steven Spielberg executive producing.

As for Bremner, the writer has become a go-to scribe after writing the past two Bad Boys films that have earned a collective $837.1 million at the global box office. He has also become a go-to writer for Smith-led projects, recently penning the Netflix action thriller Fast & Loose which is expected to be Smith’s next film.

Bremner is repped by WME and Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment.