Sony Pictures is forging ahead on that Men in Black spinoff, and it appears casting is now underway. After developing different ideas on how to proceed with the franchise, including a potential crossover with the Jump Street series, the studio settled on a hard reboot and enlisted The Fate of the Furious filmmaker F. Gary Gray to take the helm earlier this month.

Now, per THR, Chris Hemsworth is in early negotiations to star in the sci-fi action-comedy spinoff. This new story, which has a script by Iron Man writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, involves a white character, a black woman, and an older man and is set in London. Hemsworth, who showcased his comedic chops tremendously well in Thor: Ragnarok, would presumably fill the “white character” role, but it’s unclear how these characters relate to each other or what kind of story is being told.

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Image via Marvel Studios

This movie is taking the Jurassic World route and rebooting the franchise with new characters, while not ignoring the history of the previous three films. Hemsworth has just come to an end to his lengthy Marvel Studios deal, in which he will have played Thor in a total of seven films. That deal concludes with May 2019’s Avengers 4, and while a deal for Men in Black is far from closed, it’s clear the actor isn’t averse to leading new franchises outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Hemsworth actually hedged his bets with 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman, reprising his role in 2016’s The Huntsman: Winter’s War. He was also announced as returning as Captain Kirk in a Star Trek Beyond sequel involving time travel, but the tepid box office performance of that Trek sequel has put a fourth Trek movie in doubt. Quentin Tarantino is now working on an original Trek film with producer J.J. Abrams that sounds like it would supersede that Hemsworth/Chris Pine version.

The deal for Men in Black is far from closed but it’s clear this movie is now actually happening, barreling towards a June 14, 2019 release date. If Hemsworth does sign on, who would you pick to fill the other two roles? Sound off in the comments below.

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Image via Sony Pictures
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Image via Sony Pictures
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Image via Marvel Studios