It seems the secret agents at MIB are seeking out new recruits, and the god of thunder himself is looking like a possible candidate. According to an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Hemsworth is currently in negotiations to star in Sony’s untitled Men in Black spinoff film. The movie, which is slated for a June 14, 2019 release, will be helmed by Fate of the Furious director F. Gary Gray, and Ironman writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway will pen the script.
Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, who starred in the original Men in Black in 1997, are not expected to reprise their roles for the spinoff. Instead, Sony plans on introducing the audience to a new and diverse cast of characters, whose roles have yet to be filled.
Based on the small amount of information on the film, it is shaping to be a soft reboot of the franchise. It sounds very similar to how the Jurassic Park franchise went with the 2015 installment, Jurassic World. It was a film that took place in the same universe as the original but contained none of the main cast, and instead focused on a new set of characters to carry the series’ torch for future sequels.
Attaching Chris Hemsworth to the picture makes for a really good fit for the franchise. He’s had plenty of experience in that very specific genre of film, blending action and humor in a science fiction setting. His role as Thor in the MCU, and especially in Thor: Ragnarok, shows that he can play a character that is excellent at dishing out both physical and comedic punches. So far, he is the only actor to be mentioned for the project, but it will be interesting to see which other actors Sony will seek out for their new team.