Did you know that The Men in Black and 21 Jump Street plans to be in the same Cinematic Universe?
The notion of merging two of Sony's lucrative existing action comedy properties—Men in Black and Jump Street—was one of the strangest efforts to build a cinematic universe. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who helmed both Jump Street films, came up with the idea of combining the self-parodying police humor of those films with the FX-driven sci-fi chuckles of Men in Black. Surprisingly, Sony has inked an agreement with Lord and Miller to collaborate on a script with screenwriter Rodney Rothman. However, the project never progressed beyond the writing stage, with Men in Black co-producer Walter Parkes subsequently admitting that the two franchises were "not particularly compatible." I'm not joking. Rothman, Lord, and Miller went on to create the Academy Award-winning animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, so it was definitely for the best.
Back in late 2014/early 2015, it looked like the faces of both the Men In Black and 21 Jump Street franchises were going to change. It was a time when Sony Pictures was trying to figure out what was in store for the future of both of the brands, and that shared status led to some interesting talk about to potential of a crossover. Minds around Hollywood immediately started buzzing about the possibilities for the project, and while it ultimately turned out that the film just wasn’t worth pursuing, it remains one of the most interesting “What If?” Hollywood stories of the last few years.
So, what exactly occurred? How did the project get started, and what was the reason it never got off the ground? I recently went to Men In Black series producers Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parkes for answers, whom I chatted with during the recent London press junket for the next Men In Black International.
Approximately two years after the release of Men In Black 3 (which grossed $624 million at the global box office), the franchise was still considering how to continue its cinematic future, especially since the Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones era had come to an end with the Barry Sonnenfeld-directed trilogy. Behind the scenes, work was being done on another type of spin-off idea, but the notion wasn't fleshing itself out. At that moment, the concept of a radical crossover entered the picture, and it was fundamentally considered as an approach with a "crazy enough to work" vibe.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller, fresh off the immensely successful 22 Jump Street and with a developing reputation for converting poor ideas into fantastic ones, proposed a film that would combine the universes of 21 Jump Street and Men In Black, revealing that they exist in the same world. Laurie MacDonald thought it was a weird direction for the sci-fi heavy brand at first, but she was won over by the idea, particularly because of the talent of the individuals selling it. She clarified,
It was also a win-win situation for the creators of Men In Black. According to MacDonald, the arrangement they made provided them the ability to back out once a script was created — and it appears that this was the only safety net required for the crossover to be investigated. With the support of Rodney Rothman, Chris Miller and Phil Lord began working on merging the two universes (who would eventually go on to co-direct Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse in collaboration with the filmmaking duo). Unfortunately, things did not go as smoothly as planned. According to MacDonald,
“There,” of course, is the predetermined point at which a premise becomes into a viable movie – and Men In Black/21 Jump Street was never able to reach that point. That could surprise you, not only because of the aforementioned talent, but also because you'd think both buddy police techniques would complement each other nicely. However, there was a larger difficulty that finally prevented the project from being completed.
It all had to do with how each series developed its underlying sense of humor, as Walter Parkes stated. Men In Black was all about grounding heightened occurrences, whereas 21 Jump Street's humor demanded that what would otherwise be banal be elevated. He explained that by putting the two side by side, he was able to see the differences.
If the Men In Black/21 Jump Street crossover were to happen, it would have essentially been a robbing Peter to pay Paul situation. One franchise would have had to sacrifice its essence in favor of the other, and that just didn't really work. Going one way it would've just meant turning Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) into lesser-skilled alien fighting agents. In the other direction it'd be a pair of black sunglasses-clad agents entering the world of undercover police work in schools.
So the movie didn't get made, and the Men In Black franchise decided to pursue the international route – re-teaming Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the new leads – but both Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parkes remember the 21 Jump Street crossover with love. It was a funny notion and an out-of-the-box approach, and while it proved to be too difficult, it was something they were thrilled to explore at the time:
Men In Black fans will soon be able to view the alternate route that was selected for the franchise, when Men In Black International arrives in theaters on Friday, June 14th. You'll want to keep coming back to CinemaBlend between now and then because I'll have more from not only my interview with the very informative Laurie MacDonald and Walter Parkes, but also my sit downs with stars Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, and Kumail Nanjiani.
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SOURCE: Gamespot
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#SarcasticGamer #SarcasticReview
SOURCE: Gamespot
What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
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