the industy

Men in Black Producer Promises Next Film Will Finally Have a ‘Woman in Black’

Men in Black. Photo: Columbia Pictures

If there’s one silver lining to Hollywood’s incessant string of sequels and remakes, it’s that the moral arc of franchises bends toward progressivism. For instance, the Men in Black franchise, which has been exactly as male-heavy as its name implies, seems likely to get its first female heroine with its next installment. As producer Laurie Macdonald tells the BBC, “There will be a prominent woman in black in the fourth [MIB film].” Macdonald cautions that the film is still “quite early” in development, but hints it will be “a reinvention” that moves the series away from the Agent J–Agent K relationship. (The film will reportedly also share a universe with the 21 Jump Street franchise, of all things.) Of Will Smith’s rumored absence, Macdonald says only, “Never count Will out.” If he’s out, will this new female heroine be paid the same for wiping the same number of memories?

New Men in Black Film Will Have ‘Woman in Black’