Mark Wahlberg was almost young Tommy Lee Jones in Men In Black 3

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Sometimes it's fun to look at what might have been, even when the film's aren't exactly cinematic classics. MEN IN BLACK 3 is considered the good one among the MEN IN BLACK sequels, although the bar was set pretty low with MEN IN BLACK 2. The third film featured the return on Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones but the movie took us back in time and featured Josh Brolin as a younger version of Jones' character. Brolin was pretty much a dead ringer for Jones but a powerful Hollywood agent had another actor in mind for the role.

During a talk with "Cinemablend", director Barry Sonnenfeld, who helmed the first three films of the franchise, revealed that Mark Wahlberg almost snagged the role before Brolin was cast:

"One of the most powerful agents there are is a guy named Ari Emanuel. He's the head of William Morris Endeavor. And he's really good friends with Mark Wahlberg. And he really wanted Mark Wahlberg to play young Tommy Lee Jones. And I think Mark would have done a great job. But I think Brolin was born to play Tommy."

Back in 2012, Mark Wahlberg was coming off the success of THE FIGHTER & THE OTHER GUYS so it comes as no surprise that the studio would want him and that Ari Emanuel would push for him to be in the film. Sonnenfeld admitted to meeting with Wahlberg for the part but he's still very happy he was able to go with Brolin:

"I ended up having to meet Mark Wahlberg. And Mark was lovely. He was great. He would have been great in the role. But I wanted Brolin. So I got Brolin, and thank God, the studio-backed me up. But they were really nervous about making Ari upset that I didn't go with his guy."

I honestly can't see Wahlberg in the role because Brolin mimicked Jones perfectly in the role and Brolin actually turned out to be the best thing about the third film. Sonnenfeld went on to explain the commitment that Brolin gave to the role:

"And by the way, Brolin, the entire time we worked together, had a tape recorder of the first Men in Black, and whenever he was on the set, he was listening to Tommy's lilt. Tommy has the most musical voice. It's a beautiful voice. It really flows and ebbs, it's really sing-songy. And Brolin did a fantastic job. He made me cry so many times watching him. … I remember the one thing Tommy said to me about Brolin's performance was, 'Where'd he get that accent? I don't have a Texas accent.' And I said, 'Well, actually Tommy, you do."

MEN IN BLACK 3 proved to be more successful than the second film, grossing $624 million worldwide compared to the $445.1 million global total of MEN IN BLACK 2. It was also received much better critically, coming in 68% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes while the second film was rotten at 39%. Neither one tops the first film but MEN IN BLACK 3 is decent enough for a third film that no one really asked for. It's certainly better than MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL.

Do YOU think Mark Wahlberg would've been a good choice or was Brolin the way to go?