Is ‘Men In Black: International’ A New Sequel, Prequel Or Spinoff Movie?

The first “Men in Black” film, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, debuted in 1997, and, 22 years later, fans are about to get the fourth movie in the sci-fi franchise when Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson’s “Men in Black: International” invades theaters on Friday.

As all of the previous movies in the series, including the most recent one, 2012’s “Men in Black 3,” were led by Jones and Smith, this new flick with the “Avengers: Endgame” stars front and center begs the question, “Is ‘Men in Black 4’ a sequel or prequel or spinoff or what?”

The answer is two of the above.

The 2019 movie takes place after the events of the third movie, making it a sequel, but it focuses on two new main characters (Hemsworth’s Agent H and Thompson’s Agent M), making it also a spinoff.

Directed by F. Gary Gray and written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, “Men in Black: International” centers on Agent H at MIB’s London bureau and his new partner, Agent M, assigned to him by branch head High T (Liam Neeson). Their mission? Uncover and stop a mole in the organization.

Emma Thompson reprises her “Men in Black 3” role as Agent O, while Tim Blaney will once again voice Frank the Pug. The cast also features Rebecca Ferguson (Riza), Kumail Nanjiani (Pawny), Rafe Spall (Agent C) and the Les Twins, Laurent and Larry Bourgeois (The Twins).

While this is the first film in the franchise since 2012, Sony was working on a “21 Jump Street” / “Men in Black” crossover movie in 2014 but abandoned it after its script couldn’t quite get “there,” according to CinemaBlend.

Luckily for fans of the alien-filled franchise, Sony didn’t give up on it after that failed crossover attempt, and they moved forward with “Men in Black: International” as the fourth film in the series.

Check out the spinoff sequel movie when it releases in theaters on Friday.