Men In Black 3’s $624 million box office haul back in 2012 proved that it is still a hot Hollywood commodity. Since then there have been several rumors about the direction that a potential fourth instalment will take. Both Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith have insisted that they’ll “consider” returning, while there has previously been speculation that the property may be rebooted without the pair. Men In Black’s producers came out and revealed a new facet to the franchise, confirming that it will feature a prominent woman in black.
The producing team of Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parkes, who worked on the first three instalments to the Men In Black franchise, and are doing just the same on the fourth film, too, made this admission to Newsbeat after being quizzed about its status. McDonald revealed:
There will be a prominent woman in black in the fourth [film].
Offering up further tidbits about Men In Black 4, Walter Parkes admitted that it is still very much in its infancy, however, he noted that the fourth instalment will look to branch away from its predecessors. He added:
We sort of looked at the first three in retrospect as a bit of a trilogy. Now we are looking at a reinvention. But it’s a wonderful world to get back into.
But the big question, though, is Will Smith going to return for Men In Black 4? As recently as September, 2015, it was alleged that Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald had decided to reboot the franchise, with Men In Black 4 acting as the first in a brand new trilogy. The most alarming revelation though came with the statement that this would all be without Will Smith.
1997’s Men In Black confirmed Smith as a bona-fide member of the Hollywood elite. Sure Bad Boys and Independence Day had been released in the two years before, but his mainstream appeal and downright affability in Men In Black proved his crossover credentials. No wonder then that he decided to return for the subsequent sequels, which, although they failed to better the original, were still undoubtedly, great summer entertainment.
Speaking about the success of the trilogy, Parkes explained that he believes it resonated with audiences because of the relationship between Will Smith’s Agent J and Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent K. He said they wanted to tell a story about how these two very different characters relate to one another, even in the context of a “fun, science fiction comedy.”
We’re still not sure when Men In Black 4 will see the light of day, but if the script is still in its infancy, we probably have to wait around a year or so before that’s announced.
