It seems that Will Smith is content with making peace with many of his most popular characters. Last year, he turned down a possible reprieve as Captain Steve Hiller in Independence Day 2. Now, it’s looking more like he won’t return as Agent Jay in Men In Black 4.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald – who produced the first three MIB films – acknowledged Will Smith’s possible exit from the franchise.
“We’re in the middle of it. It’s very active,” Parkes said of the project. When asked if Will Smith would be involved, Parkes told THR, “Most likely no.”
In the interview, MacDonald divulged that the new film is intended to be a part of a new ‘reinvented trilogy.’ It’ll be interesting to see what direction the new films go in without Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.
Smith for his part, has long avoided sequels except the Bad Boys and up to this point, the Men In Black films. He recently entered the DC Universe as deadly marksman-assasin Deadshot (aka Floyd Lawton) in the upcoming Suicide Squad due out next year – which is sure to have a sequel. He’s also signed up for two upcoming Bad Boys sequels as Detective Mike Lowrey opposite Martin Lawrence – apparently the only franchise he’s keen on returning to.
As he says goodbye to another fan-favorite franchise, Smith moves on to greener pastures. You can next see him the football-conspiracy movie, Concussion. The movie recently released its first trailer – you can see it here. He also has two other projects entering pre-production, Collateral Beauty and The American Can.
Men In Black 4 is still in the early stages of development. The film still hasn’t brought on a director or writer onboard and no actors have been linked to the project. When more news breaks about the new film, we’ll be sure to pass it along.
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