Men in Black (also known as MIB) is a series of American science fiction action comedy films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, and based on the Malibu / Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham, which was itself based on a UFO conspiracy theory. The first film, Men in Black, was released in 1997, the second film, Men in Black II in 2002, the third film, Men in Black 3 in 2012, and the fourth film, a spin-off, Men in Black: International in 2019. Amblin Entertainment and MacDonald/Parkes Productions produced, and Sony Pictures Releasing through its Columbia Pictures label released, all four films.
Films Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Story by Producers Men in Black Barry Sonnenfeld Ed Solomon Walter Parkes & Laurie MacDonald Men in Black II Barry Fanaro & Robert Gordon Robert Gordon Men in Black 3 Etan Cohen Men in Black: International F. Gary Gray Art Marcum & Matt Holloway Men in Black (1997)
Men in Black is the first film in the series. The film follows the exploits of Agent J and Agent K, members of a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth. After Agent K hand-picks James D. Edwards from the NYPD and recruits him for MIB, the two Men in Black find themselves in the middle of the deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to steal an energy source of unimaginable power. To prevent worlds from colliding, the MIB must track down the terrorist and prevent the destruction of Earth. It's just another typical day for the Men in Black. The film was released on July 2, 1997, to positive reviews and grossed $589 million worldwide.
Men in Black II (2002)
Men in Black II is the second film in the series, set five years after the first. For Agent J, it is another day at the office, monitoring, licensing, and policing all alien activity on Earth. Agent K retired from MIB after the events of the first film, had his memories of them wiped, and returned to his former life. One day, J receives a report of an unauthorized landing of an alien spacecraft near New York. It is an old enemy of MIB, a Kylothian named Serleena, who is searching for a powerful artifact called The Light of Zartha. J investigates and realizes that it requires knowledge of events that only K possesses. After other recruited MIB agents fail to meet J's standards as a partner, J decides to bring back K and restore K's memory as an MIB agent to try to stop Serleena. Men in Black II was released on July 3, 2002, to mixed reviews and grossed $441 million worldwide.
Men in Black 3 (2012)
Men in Black 3 is the third film in the series. When the notorious alien criminal Boris the Animal escapes LunarMax Security Prison to seek revenge on K for capturing him in 1969, he can use secret time-travel technology to go back in time and undo the events of his defeat, resulting in a new timeline where K is killed during his fight with Boris and Earth is now vulnerable to an invasion from his species. With J the only one who remembers the original history, he must go back in time to join forces with the younger K and ensure that events play out as they should. Men in Black 3 was released on May 25, 2012, to positive reviews and grossed over $624 million worldwide.
Featuring Josh Brolin as young K.
Men in Black: International (2019)
In the film, rookie MIB recruit Molly Wright and Agent H from MIB's UK branch investigate the activities of the shape-shifting alien duo Twins, who are seeking a dangerous artifact, only to discover that there is a more dangerous threat: a mole in the agency. Agent O from Men in Black 3 returns, and Frank the Pug appears in a cameo after appearing in the first two films. The film was released on June 14, 2019. Unlike its predecessors, Men in Black: International received mostly negative reviews and was a box office disappointment, grossing only $253 million worldwide, making it the lowest grossing film in the series.
Future Both Smith and Jones have said that they would "consider" appearing in a Men in Black 4, with Jones saying that it would be fun to do it again. In July 2012, Columbia chief executive Doug Belgrad said that they are interested to continue the franchise after MIB 3'''s successful financial performance. Both Barry Sonnenfeld and Will Smith expressed interest on another project, also saying that they would like to see Will's son Jaden Smith in it. In early 2013, Oren Uziel was writing a Men in Black 4 screenplay for Sony Pictures. In December 2025, a new entry in the franchise was announced with Chris Bremner writing the screenplay.
Cast and crew Principal cast
Characters Men in Black Men in Black II Men in Black 3 Men in Black: International 1997 2002 2012 2019 Agent J Will Smith Will Smith Agent K Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones Chief Zed Rip Torn Kirk Larsen Frank the Pug Tim BlaneyMushu the Dog Tim Blaney Jack Jeebs Tony Shalhoub colspan="2" Newton David Cross colspan="2" Agent O colspan="2" Emma Thompson Emma Thompson Worm Guys Thom Fountain Brad Abrell Drew Massey Carl J. Johnson Drew Massey Greg Ballora Tim Blaney Security Guard Alpheus Merchant Woodie King Jr. Vincent Pirillo Diner Waitress Mom Alexandra O'Hara Agent T Patrick Warburton Agent M Michael Jackson colspan="2" Laurel Weaver Linda Fiorentino colspan="3" Edgar the Bug Vincent D'Onofrio colspan="2" Derrick Cunningham Richard Hamilton colspan="3" Beatrice Siobhan Fallon Hogan colspan="3" Gentle Rosenberg Mike Nussbaum colspan="3" Serleena Lara Flynn Boyle colspan="2" Laura Vasquez Rosario Dawson colspan="2" Scrad and Charlie Johnny Knoxville colspan="2" Hailey Colombe Jacobsen colspan="2" Jarra John Alexander colspan="2" Boris the Animal colspan="2" Jemaine Clement Griffin colspan="2" Michael Stuhlbarg James Darrell Edwards II colspan="2" Mike Colter Lilly Poison colspan="2" Nicole Scherzinger Jeffrey Price colspan="2" Michael Chernus Agent X colspan="2" David Rasche Agent AA colspan="2" Will Arnett Andy Warhol colspan="2" Bill Hader Mr. Wu colspan="2" Keone Young Agent M colspan="3" Tessa Thompson Agent H colspan="3" Chris Hemsworth Pawny colspan="3" Kumail Nanjiani High T colspan="3" Liam Neeson Agent C colspan="3" Rafe Spall Riza Stavros colspan="3" Rebecca Ferguson The Twins colspan="3" Les Twins
Additional crew Film Crew/Detail Composer(s) Cinematographer Editor(s) Production companies Distributing company Running time Men in Black Danny Elfman Don Peterman Jim Miller Amblin EntertainmentParkes/MacDonald ProductionsColumbia Pictures Corporation Columbia Pictures Corporation 98 minutes Men in Black II Greg Gardiner Steven WeisbergRichard Pearson Columbia PicturesAmblin EntertainmentMacDonald Parkes Productions Columbia Pictures 88 minutes Men in Black 3 Bill Pope Don Zimmerman P+M Image NationAmblin EntertainmentImagenation Abu DhabiHemisphere Media CapitalColumbia Pictures Corporation Columbia Pictures Corporation 106 minutes Men in Black: International Chris BaconDanny Elfman Stuart Dryburgh Zene BakerChristian Wagner P+M Image NationAmblin EntertainmentThe Hideaway EntertainmentColumbia Pictures CorporationSony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. Sony Pictures Releasing 115 minutes
Production Development Men in Black (1997) The film is loosely based upon the comic book The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. Producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald optioned the rights to The Men in Black in 1992 and hired Ed Solomon to write a very faithful script. Parkes and MacDonald wanted Barry Sonnenfeld as director because he had helmed the darkly humorous The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values. Sonnenfeld was attached to Get Shorty (1995), so they approached Les Mayfield to direct, as they had heard about the positive reception to his remake of Miracle on 34th Street. They actually saw the film later and decided it was inappropriate. Men in Black was delayed to allow Sonnenfeld to make it his next project after Get Shorty.
Much of the initial script drafts were set underground, with locations ranging from Kansas to Washington, D.C. and Nevada. Sonnenfeld decided to change the location to New York City because the director felt New Yorkers would be tolerant of aliens who behaved oddly while disguised. He also felt that many of the city's structures resembled flying saucers and rocket ships. Production designer Bo Welch designed the MIB headquarters with a 1960s tone in mind, because that was when the organization was formed. He cited influences from Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who designed a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Being the arrival point of aliens on Earth, Welch felt MIB HQ had to resemble an airport.
ILM provided most of the special effects. Rick Baker led the special effects of the film, which was the most complex in his career to date. He had to have approval from both director Barry Sonnenfeld and executive producer Steven Spielberg: "It was like, 'Steven likes the head on this one, and Barry really likes the body on this one, so why don't you do a mix and match?' And I'd say, because it wouldn't make any sense". Sonnenfeld also changed a lot of the film's aesthetic during pre-production: "I started out saying aliens shouldn't be what humans perceive them to be. Why do they need eyes? So Rick did these great designs, and I'd say, 'That's great — but how do we know where he's looking?' I ended up where everyone else did, only I took three months".
Filming began in March 1996. Five months into the shoot, the crew realized their ending was unexciting. It was originally meant to be a humorous existential debate between Agent J and the Bug, and five potential replacements were discussed. One of these had Laurel Weaver being neuralyzed and K remaining an agent. The change to a fight sequence annoyed Rick Baker, as their animatronic Bug had to be replaced with computer-generated imagery. Further changes were made during post-production to simplify the plotline involving the possession of the tiny galaxy. The Arquillians would hand over the galaxy to the Baltians, ending a long war. The bugs need to feed on the casualties of the war and steal their remains to continue the war. Through changing subtitles, the images on MIB's main computer and Frank the Pug's dialogue, the Baltians were eliminated from the plot. Earth goes from being potentially destroyed in the crossfire between the two races to being possibly destroyed by the Arquillians to prevent the bugs from getting the galaxy.
Men in Black II (2002) Despite some initial involvement from David Koepp (who left to work on Spider-Man), the script for Men in Black II was written by Robert Gordon and later revised by Barry Fanaro (who added pop culture references, something which Gordon had deliberately avoided). Sonnenfeld took issue with the producers' focus on the love story between Will Smith's and Rosario Dawson's characters, saying that "I learned on Wild Wild West that audiences didn't want to see Will as the straight man. And until Tommy comes back into the movie, by definition Will's the straight man". Fanaro condensed the first part of the film and brought Agent K in earlier. The climax of the second film was originally to have taken place at New York City's World Trade Center, but was changed following the destruction of the buildings in the September 11 attacks. This also led to the ending being refilmed.
Supervising sound editor Skip Lievsay used a Synclavier to recreate and improve the original recording of the neuralyzer sound effect from the first film (which was the sound of a strobe flash as it recycles) by removing some distortion. For some of the scenes with the Serleena creature, the sound crew "took tree branches, put them inside a rubber membrane and pushed that around and added some water." For the special effects scene where the subway train is attacked by Jeff the Worm, a specially designed vise was used to crush a subway car and make it look as if it had been bitten in half.