Will Smith Not Included in New 'Men In Black' Installment Coming to Theaters

Will Smith gained great sucess from the late '90s trilogy Men In Black I, II and III. Fans of the film will be happy to learn that there's a new installment of the franchise underway and heading back to theaters but, don't expect to see Smith starring in the role of Agent J in the film. With films like Pursuit of Happyness and his upcoming film, Concussion, Smith has decided to focus less on projects like MIB and take on films with more prestige.

In 2012, the president of Sony Pictures, Doug Belgrad, told Hollywood Reporter that there would definitely be a MIB4."We're very pleased with the financial performance of Men in Black 3," Belgrad explained. "...We believe it is an ongoing franchise. We're going to do [another one], but we don't have clarity yet on how it should be done."

Fast forward to 2015, Belgrad along with Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, the original producers of the film, are pretty clear now about the direction of the new installment, and according to Parkes, they're "in the middle of it."

BET reported that the first part of a second trilogy is moving right along but, without original cast member, Will Smith. According to Parkes, the film is very active but, when asked if Smith will be rejoining the cast his response was "most likely no." According to BET, "despite the success of the trilogy...the actor isn't interested in coming back to the well, instead focusing on prestige projects like the Oscar-bait-y Concussion, due out this fall."

The sci-fi comedy, also starring Tommy Lee Jones, was released in 1997 to huge opening numbers, followed by the release of the second film in 2002; and ten years later, the third and final MIB, that the Enemy of The State actor would star in, was reportedly "the most profitable film of the franchise thanks to robust international ticket sales."

According to Screen Rant, Smith made the decision in 2013 that the third MIB would be his last film with the franchise.

"I think three is enough for me," Smith explained. "Three of anything is enough for me. We'll look at it and we'll consider it, but it feels like that it might be time to let someone else do that."

Tags

Will Smith