According to reports, it looks like Men In Black 4 is going to get underway real soon, but the question remains if Will Smith will be back for the titled role. Our sources say Smith would be interested in reprising the role but it would really all depend on timing. Smith has several projects on tap, including a film with Denzel Washington so things are still up in the air.
Here is the report from The Hollywood Reporter;
Sony is throwing another Men in Black into development, hiring Oren Uziel to pen a draft.
Men in Black 4 is in the early stages of development and it is unclear to what extent franchise star Will Smith is involved at this point, though clearly there is interest to capitalize on last year’s movie. MIB 3 grossed a franchise best $624 million and received warm reviews, after the bloated mess of Men in Black 2.
There are no deals for Josh Brolin or Emma Thompson to return and the movie series is expensive to make for the studio due to back-end participation deals with players like Smith, directorBarry Sonnenfeld and executive producer Steven Spielberg.
Uziel will tackle Men in Black 4 after he works on 21 Jump Street 2, which Sony has already dated for a June 6, 2014 release. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are coming back as stars as are Phil Lord and Chris Miller as directors.
Sony didn’t comment on loglines but it is expected that the Jump Street plot will see the doofus undercover cops in a college setting rather than a high school setting. Hill andMichael Bacall wrote the initial draft for the new movie.
The double deal solidifies Uziel’s standing at the studio, which is making is genre mash-upKitchen Sink, a sci-fi/horror comedy that was a Black List script.
