It looks like Will Smith's Agent J(ay) may have accidentally looked into the Neuralyzer without his protective Ray-Bans because the actor is not expected to be involved with Sony's Men in Black reboot. Though many of you out there may currently be griping that Hollywood is out of new ideas, etc, etc, the good news with this reboot is that it seems like the studio is at least going back to the franchise's most basic beginnings. In other words, there shouldn't be any continuity problems to worry about, or egos, or demands for a bigger paycheck.

News of the reboot comes courtesy of THR, who caught up with veteran producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald during TIFF 2015. Not only did they reveal that Sony has a Men in Black reboot in the works, but that it would be a trilogy. The duo previously shepherded each film in the existing trilogy, as well as the animated series adaptation, so you can rest assured that they know what they're talking about. Here's the relevant section of the interview:

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You produced Men in Black. Has there been talk of reviving that franchise with the new Sony regime?

 

PARKES We're in the middle of it. It's very active.

 

Is Will Smith going to be part of it?

 

PARKES Most likely no.

 

MACDONALD It will be reinvented as a trilogy.

At this point it's unclear whether this new trilogy will include the rumored crossover event with Sony's 21 Jump Street franchise, or if the three new films will stand apart from the spin-off feature. Can we expect to see Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill engage in some extraterrestrial hijinks as part of their next action comedy? No idea, but that'd certainly be a fun extension of their existing movie universe, and one that will allow audiences to segue into a new Men in Black trilogy. The state of studio films is all about universe-building these days, so just because 21 Jump Street and Men in Black don't need to exist within the same world doesn't mean Sony won't try to make that happen.

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