For 15 years across three movies, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones were the MIB agents we followed along with one the big screen, donning their sharp suits and keeping Earth safe from alien threats. But the Men in Black film series is about to enter a new era, as the forthcoming movie will follow an all-new cast of characters. Today brings word that longtime Marvel star Chris Hemsworth is the first actor who's been approached to play one of these new well-dressed agents.
Rather than reboot the Men in Black franchise, the next series entry will exist within the same continuity established by the previous three movies, and THR dropped the news that Chris Hemsworth is in early negotiations to be one of the next movie's leads. It was also reported that the new Men in Black movie's main protagonists will be a white character (presumably who Hemsworth will play), a black woman and an older man. The story will also be set in London, making this the first time that one of the Men in Black movies' main action has been set outside of the United States.
Chris Hemsworth is unquestionably best known for play Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently playing the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok. Outside the world of superheroes, his credits include Star Trek, Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghostbusters, The Huntsman: Winter's War and 12 Strong. What's particularly about Hemsworth being eyed for the Men in Black relaunch is that recently the actor said that after he's done shooting Bad Times at the El Royale (which co-stars Jeff Bridges), he would be taking six months off from acting. However, since the new Men in Black movie is coming out in summer 2019, if Hemsworth decides to sign on the dotted line, then he'd almost certainly have to postpone his break to be available for filming later this year.
Following Men in Black 3's release in 2012, Sony Pictures considered several ways to keep the film series going. A direct Men in Black 4 was kicked around, but there are no currently plans for Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to don the black suits again. There was also MIB23, a crossover with the 21 Jump Street movies, but it's unclear if that weird project could still happen. In the end, the studio settled on a spinoff that will keep the extraterrestrial-filled universe introduce in 1997 going, just like what Jurassic World did for the Jurassic Park series. The Fate of the Furious' F. Gary Gray will direct, and Iron Man writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum penned the script.
The next Men in Black movie hits theaters on June 14, 2019. In the meantime, you can see Chris Hemsworth next reprising Thor in Avengers: Infinity War starting May 4, and Bad Times at the El Royale will follow on October 5.
