Fate Of The Furious director F Gary Gray is in talks with Sony to direct their upcoming Men In Black spinoff film.
The project is the studio’s way of continuing the franchise without having to pay a fortune for Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith to reprise their roles as Agents J and K for a fourth installment.
The Hollywood Reporter is stating that Sony is looking to continue the Men In Black franchise with new faces but in a way that “somewhat acknowledged what came before,” much in the same way Jurassic World revitalized that franchise.
This is Sony’s latest attempt to find a way to breathe new life into the Men In Black series. Previously, they were developing a film that would crossover with their comedic bog screen take on the 1980s TV series 21 Jump Street. Although the studio was talking with The Muppets director James Bobin in March of 2016, the project appears to be dead now.
Gray seems to be a curious choice to follow Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed the original trilogy of films. Gray’s movies are more gritty action pieces compared to the balance of quirky comedy and action that Sonnenfeld’s work is generally known for. True, Gray did follow-up Sonnenfeld film previously, but his Be Cool failed to capture the tone and quality of Sonnenfeld’s Get Shorty.
Iron Man writers Matt Holloway and Art Marcum have already turned in a screenplay to the studio for the film.
