Sony is planning a Men in Black/21 Jump Street crossover!

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

What’s the best way to reinvigorate your stuffy franchise? Combine it with a thriving one!

That appears to be the thinking over at Sony Pictures, which is reportedly considering incorporating its main 21 JUMP STREET characters (played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum) into its MEN IN BLACK franchise. The news comes out of the monumental hack the company is currently suffering through, as details on almost all of its movie plans – not to mention the personal info of its employees – continues to flow out into the media’s waiting clutches.

Per the Wall Street Journal:

E-mails from the studio’s motion picture chief Amy Pascal leaked onto the Internet this week by hackers reveal that a follow-up to this year’s comedy hit “22 Jump Street” will have cops played by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum interacting with the universe of the sci-comedy franchise “Men in Black,” which previously starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Details on the movie are scarce, but the e-mails do indicate Messrs. Smith and Jones would not be included in the movie, at least in prominent roles. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed the last two “Jump Street” films, are producing the picture and may direct it.

In an e-mail to Ms. Pascal, Mr. Hill says “jump street merging with mib i think that’s clean and rad and powerful.”

Add to that, Sony has reached out to MIB executive producer Steven Spielberg in order to acquire his blessing/participation.

Amazing news, and in this writer’s mind, not a bad move at all. It’s no secret that MEN IN BLACK is quite tired, and though MEN IN BLACK 3 made $624 million worldwide, it’s still considered unprofitable thanks to how much money (somewhere around $225 million) and time ended up being wasted during production. (You’ll recall it went through multiple rewrites, cast changes and delays.) It also simply felt like the last gasp of a dying series.

Meanwhile, the 21 JUMP STREET movies, while fun, have already run out of places to go. The spectacular 22 JUMP STREET end credits acknowledged that Smitty and Jenko’s next adventure would have to be ridiculous in the extreme to justify a 23 JUMP STREET. And what would be nuttier than seeing the two bumbling cops battle aliens?

Let’s wait and see if any of the principals come forward and comment on this revelation.