Friday
30Oct2009
'Men in Black 3' Really Happening
Friday, October 30, 2009 at 6:55AM
That third Men in Black movie, the one that seemed like a big maybe, the one that seemed like it might
be years away, is coming together much faster than we expected. Sony has hired Etan Cohen - and that's not a typo of Ethan Coen - to write the script, and production could begin next spring.
after skipping the second
movie. In hindsight, I wish I'd done the same thing. Be that as it may, in a time when studios are looking for sure things as often
as they can get them, Sony is going back to what works: Of the studio's top five box office hits ever, three are Spider-Man,
two are Will Smith. One of those two is the first MIB, and here we are.
However, Smith is apparently not confirmed for the sequel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "in recent days the buzz in
development circles has been that he is now interested in returning. Smith does not currently have a go movie lined up. Tommy Lee
Jones’ involvement is uncertain." So wait...neither Man in Black is a done deal?
No matter: Cohen is reportedly "deep" into his draft for the script, although we don't know if he's going back to the source
material or if he's coming up with something new and probably unforgivably campy. Not a lot of toning down in threequels, after all.
There are two ways to look at this. You could be cynical and say we're too long down the road (10 years and counting since the
original) to have another good installment in the series, especially given how the ball was dropped in Men in Black II. Or
you could be optimistic and say the first one was better than the second one was bad and think they've hired exactly the right guy to write this so long as all the other pieces drop into place.
And frankly, I don't know which one was better odds.
Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Sequels, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith | Print Article | Email Article | 2 Comments | Share Article
Reader Comments (2)
Barry Sonnenfeld (unfortunately) DID direct the second MIB...
He did? Wow, that movie was so weak I just assumed upon reflection that he didn't have anything to do with it. Then again: RV.