15 years after the first movie, and 9 years after the disappointing sequel, Men In Black III is coming to theaters next summer and is stuck trying to sell their movie to an audience that may be as old as this franchise. As a result, the first teaser trailer for the film, which Sony Pictures posted online today, is less focused on revealing information about the new film than going over the basics of what the Men In Black do. Here's Will Smith, here's Tommy Lee Jones, here are their suits, here is their memory eraser stick, here are the aliens they monitor-- oh, and in the last 30 seconds, here's this time travel plot! Take a look for yourself below.


The best reveal of the trailer by far is the shot of Josh Brolin as the younger version of Tommy Lee Jones, and you can't blame them for saving it to the very end-- Brolin nails the delivery and the grim facial expression, and his facial expressions are better than any alien makeup or Will-Smith-leaping-off-the-Chrysler-building effect in the trailer. But after months of production delays and a script they were apparently making up as they went along, it's a little worrying that Men In Black III has revealed no coherent plot here, spending a lot of time on the elements of Men In Black they know we like already and saving the actual details of the sequel for later. I know it's unlikely but it makes me wonder if they're still working out the plot kinks in the editing room.

The movie will be hitting early in the summer movie season, opening May 25 next year, and there's still time for them to impress us more with the marketing. But as nice as it is to see Jones and Smith-- the most unlikely but enjoyable comic duo you can think of-- reunited, memories of the awful Men In Black II and this mediocre trailer are getting in the way of having a lot of hope here.