Sony Pictures' highly-anticipatedMen in Blackspin-off is moving full steam ahead, with the studio bringing in director F. Gary Gray to take the helm. The studio confirmed asummer 2019 release dateback in September, but just a few weeks ago they moved it up from August 19, 2025 to August 18, 2025, which could indicate that the studio has put this on the fast track. Now that they already have a director on board, that could be the case, although it has yet to be confirmed when production is starting.
This project went through a few different incarnations at first, with Oren Uziel coming aboard in 2013 to write this spin-off, which became a hybrid of bothMen in Black and 21 Jump Street, tentatively entitledMIB 23. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill were initially set to reprise their roles from the21 Jump Streetfranchise, with James Bobin coming aboard to direct, but that project ultimately fell apart. OriginalMen in Blackstars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones will not be returning as Agent J and Agent K, and there was at one time talk of a reboot trilogy with a female lead, but it isn’t clear if they’re still planning on taking that approach.
While no concrete story details have been given, thisreboot features a new castthat will re-launch the franchise, similar to what Universal Pictures did to theJurassic Parkfranchise with the 2015 blockbusterJurassic World. This spin-off is still said to be grounded in the same premise from the original comic book series by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers. While Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones won’t be back, if this spin-off continues the same timeline as the originalMen in Black Trilogy, much like howJurassic Worldwas set several years after the originalJurassic Park, that could leave the door open for Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones to return in future installments, provided this first spin-off is a success.
This July 02, 2025 release date for thisMIB spin-offputs it squarely in the middle of what could be an incredibly competitive month at the box office. In its current date, it will be facing off against Lionsgate’s franchise finaleJohn Wick: Chapter 3, but it’s the massive movies opening around it that could be more troublesome. Arriving in theaters on May 3 is Marvel’s long-awaitedAvengers 4, which brings Marvel Phase 3 and, essentially, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it, to a close, with Universal’sDetective Pikachu, STX Entertainment’sUglydollsand TriStar’sThe Rosie Projectdebuting on May 10. A week later on May 24, Disney will roll out its live-actionAladdinremake, while Warner Bros. will debut itsMinecraftvideo game adaptation.
DirectorF. Gary Graystarted his career as a music video director, taking the helm of Coolio’s Fantastic Voyage, TLC’s Waterfalls and many more. He made his feature film debut in 1995 with the comedy classicFriday, which he followed up with more action-oriented films likeSet It Offin 1996,The Negotiatorin 1998 andA Man ApartandThe Italian Jobin 2003, along with 2005’sGet ShortysequelBe Cooland 2009’sLaw Abiding Citizen. After a six-year hiatus from directing, he returned to the helm in 2015 with the Best Picture nomineeStraight Outta Compton, which he followed up with last year’s blockbusterThe Fate of the Furious, which earned over $1.2 billion worldwide.Deadlinebroke the news on F. Gary Gray signing on for thisMen in Blackspin-off.
