Sony is not quite done milking the cash cow known as the Men in Black franchise. The studio is currently in the early development stage of Men in Black 4, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise since, unlike the second installment, Men in Black 3 was a box office success last summer that was warmly received by moviegoers and critics alike. The time-traveling threequel raked in $624 million, earning the franchise its highest ever worldwide gross.
As of now, it’s unclear to what extent franchise stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are involved in the project, but given their staple position in the previous films, bringing them back is a no-brainer. However, returning Men in Black newcomers Josh Brolin or Emma Thompson would be a bit trickier. It’s very expensive to make the movie series because of backend participation deals with Smith, director Barry Sonnenfeld and executive producer Steven Spielberg, so there may be little in the budget for more top-seed actors.
Oren Uziel, who is writing the scripts for the upcoming Mortal Kombat movie and the 21 Jump Street sequel, has been tapped to pen the film.
Sony has yet to announce a release date for Men In Black 4.
