Men in Black 5: Sony Developing a New Sequel — Will Will Smith Return?

Men in Black 5 is officially in development at Sony, marking a potential return for one of the studio’s most valuable sci-fi franchises. Announced in early December, the new sequel is currently being scripted by Bad Boys: For Life writer Chris Bremner, though it remains unclear whether original stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will reprise their iconic roles as Agents J and K. With the franchise dormant since the box office failure of Men in Black: International, Sony now appears eager to revive the series—raising questions about its direction, cast, and long-term future.

The MIB franchise began in 1997. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, the film tells the story of a young police officer – played by Smith – who is recruited into the titular secret organization, whose main mission is to regulate alien immigrants living in secret among Earth's population. He is assigned to work with Agent K (Jones), a gruff senior agent whose tough exterior belies his caring nature. Together, they form an unlikely partnership navigating pesky aliens and extra-terrestrial threats. The film was a box office hit, garnering $589 million worldwide on a $90 million budget. A couple of years later, in 2002, a sequel – MIB II – followed. This time, Agent J must pull Agent K out of retirement to defeat an evil alien conspiring to destroy Earth. The sequel grossed $445 million worldwide.

It then took 10 years for the third film in the franchise, MIB 3, to be released in the summer of 2012. Boasting a bigger budget – $215 million, making it one of the most expensive films ever made – and a globe-spanning marketing blitz, the film became the highest-grossing film in the franchise with a $654 million tally. MIB 3 sends Agent J back in time to stop an escaped alien from assassinating a younger Agent K (played by Josh Brolin). In 2019, Sony attempted to reboot the franchise with a largely new cast led by Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. But with no Smith-Jones combo and lackluster reviews, MIB: International tanked at the box office. What was meant to kickstart a new generation of alien-hunting agents became a punching bag, unfairly slammed for diversity gone wrong. The franchise went back to the shelf once again.

What It Could Be About

As reported, the story could focus on a whole new generation of MIB agents, with Smith there guiding them as an Obi-Wan-like mentor. A huge part of why the last reboot didn’t work – besides the awful storyline – was the absence of its marquee characters ushering in a smooth transition. It also proved that Will Smith’s starpower was a large driver of the franchise’s success. With MIB: International widely derided, the makers might approach the new film as a continuation of the original trilogy. Agents J and K would not necessarily return as leads, but their legacy could loom large, perhaps as retired figures, trainers, or off-screen influences shaping a new generation of agents. This would mirror how other long-running franchises have eased into generational transitions without wiping the slate clean.

Another popular theory involves a shift in scale, with Men in Black 5 exploring what happens when secrecy becomes harder to maintain. The earlier films leaned on the idea that MIB could quietly clean up extraterrestrial messes with a neuralyzer and a well-timed cover story. In a world dominated by surveillance cameras, satellites, and instant global communication, that approach may no longer work. A plot centered on an alien incident too large to erase could force the agency to rethink its mission and methods. It would also be interesting to explore a multiverse angle in MIB – after all, the third movie already established that time travel existed in this universe. A multiverse storyline could explain inconsistencies across films or introduce alternate versions of familiar characters without undoing established history. It would also give writers an excuse to revisit iconic moments from new angles, something modern audiences seem to enjoy.