The MEN IN BLACK series really went about as far as they could possibly go. Once you start dipping your toes into the time-travel pool in order to keep things going, it’s probably time to move on and do something fresh.

And that’s the plan with MEN IN BLACK III marking the end of the initial pairing of Will Smith andTommy Lee Jones and now a new trilogy in the works that would reinvent the franchise for the next few years.

While recently promoting their latest film HE NAMED ME MALALA, producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald were asked what might happen with MEN IN BLACK going forward, now that Sony has new blood at the top.

We’re in the middle of it. It’s very active.

They also clarified that Will Smith very likely will not be a part of it, giving them the freedom to find a new duo to build around that has the potential to bring an entirely different dynamic to the table.

MEN IN BLACK is a big moneymaker for Sony and one of the few franchise properties they do have under their belt. They’re not just going to let it sit on the shelf and collect dust, so it makes perfect sense business-wise for them to jump at the idea of getting a new team started. It doesn’t sound like the strange 21 JUMP STREET crossover is going to happen. That always seemed like throwing shit at the wall and seeing if it stuck, but a new pair to keep the series alive? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me.