Oren Uziel has been hired by Sony not to only to write the next installment in the Men in Black franchise, but also to rewrite the upcoming 21 Jump Street sequel, according to The Wrap. Men in Black 3, released last year, is the highest-grossing of the franchise raking in over $625 million worldwide so a sequel was all but a foregone conclusion. Plot details for the fourth installment are under wraps at the moment but expect Tommy Lee Jones to reprise his role as “guy who would rather be doing literally anything else right now.”
Also released last year, 21 Jump Street was well-received by fans and critics alike for turning a campy 80’s show best remembered as Johnny Depp‘s launching pad into a comedy that was as smart as it was funny. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are set to return and as hinted at the end of the first movie they will be going undercover at a college this time around. Ice Cube, who played their mouthy boss, is also expected to return alongside directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. With their time currently being taken up by development of The Lego Movie for Warner Brothers, Uziel has been brought on to handle current screenwriting duties.
Uziel will also co-write the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot with director Kevin Tancharoen (the two were behind the 2010 short), as well as adapt the Chuck Klosterman novel Downtown Owl for the big-screen. A previous screenplay of his, Black List staple The Kitchen Sink, is also set to begin production later this year for an October 2014 release. And after all this work, we’ll finally be able to see the results next summer, as the first of his projects, 21 Jump Street 2, hits theaters in June.
Any excitement for a new Men in Black or is it just an obligation now? What do you think about Uziel’s other projects?