Columbia Pictures gets to continue its Men in Black franchise as Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld have signed on for a third installment according to Heat Vision. Tommy Lee Jones is in negotiations to return while Josh Brolin is in talks to join the cast as a younger version of Agent K. It seems most of the movie would take place in 1969. Etan Cohen (Tropic Thunder) wrote the script while David Koepp (Ghost Town, Angels & Demons) is giving it a polish. The movie has been scheduled for release on May 25th, 2012.
It’s hard to be very excited about this when it’s another sequel born of a cash grab. Men in Black was a fun romp and remains so, but Men in Black II was a dreadful mess. No one put any effort into their performances and the humor was more outlandish and juvenile. There was an Entertainment Weekly article way back in the day that seemed to provide a lot of evidence that no one cared about making a good movie, they were just giddy about cashing massive paychecks. I rather expect the same thing here. We’ll see. Everyone involved burned me badly on Men in Black II so there isn’t a chance in hell I’m holding my breath on this one. Besides, time travel plots in blockbuster movies have a tendency towards the ridiculously stupid.
