A new installment in the Men in Black franchise is currently in development at Sony Pictures, with Chris Bremner—known for scripting Bad Boys for Life—set to write the fifth entry in the iconic sci-fi comedy series. While Will Smith has not yet officially signed on to reprise his role as Agent J, Sony reportedly hopes he will return once he reviews the script.
Men in Black remains one of Sony’s most lucrative properties, generating a combined $1.9 billion across its four films. The original trilogy starred Smith alongside Tommy Lee Jones as agents in a covert government organization that polices extraterrestrial activity on Earth. The 2019 spin-off, Men in Black: International, shifted focus to new leads Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson but disappointed both critically and commercially, further fueling the studio’s desire to bring Smith back to the franchise.
Chris Bremner has become a frequent collaborator with Smith, having written the last two Bad Boys films—which earned $837 million combined—and the upcoming Netflix thriller Fast & Loose, which will mark Smith’s next appearance. With Bremner at the helm and the potential return of Smith, Sony is aiming to reinvigorate the Men in Black series and recapture the success of its earlier films.