When you think about the ridiculous behind the scenes problems that Men In Black III had - including long delays so that the script could be almost totally rewritten - the movie itself is actually not that bad. The story is fairly stupid and there are some gaping plot holes, but the whole thing is kept together by the never-yielding charisma of Will Smith and the spot-on Tommy Lee Jones impression by Josh Brolin (not to mention a funny supporting turn by Michael Stuhlbarg). Audiences responded as well, with the film making $179 million in the United States and a crazy $445 million internationally. Given that success, Sony is going to give it another go.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that upcoming screenwriter Oren Uziel, who scripted the Mortal Kombat: Rebirth short film as well as the upcoming horror comedy The Kitchen Sink, has been hired by the studio to write a script for Men In Black IV. But while it's clear the Sony wants to keep the franchise going, there are big question marks surrounding important other elements. The trade says that it's unclear if Smith would be up for another go as Agent J , and there aren't any deals right now with either Brolin or Emma Thompson, who filled in for Rip Torn's Zed as the new head of the Men in Black division.
But that's not all Sony has planned for Uziel. The studio has also hired him to do a re-write of an existing script for 21 Jump Street 2, which was recently confirmed for release on June 6, 2014. Star Jonah Hill and Michael Bacall, who wrote the first movie, scripted the first draft that Uziel will be working from. The story finds main characters Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) going undercover as college students.
