By Brendan Clementz

Attendees at Coachella this year were surprised by an appearance of Will Smith, in full Men in Black attire, performing alongside J Balvin. Soon after, rumors surfaced of an MiB sequel in the works at Sony. 

The first Men in Black movie was released all the way back in 1997 starring Will Smith, who was then still establishing his prominent role in film and TV after starring in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The story followed a New York cop named Jay played by Smith who gets recruited by a secret agency to track down aliens. 

The success of the first movie spurred multiple sequels to the original, with the most recent one, MiB: International, released in 2019. Now, with Will Smith at Coachella sporting his classic look from original movies, as well as new rumors of a supposed sequel, it can only be assumed that it would a “return to form” compared to the more recent ones. 

Will Smith’s character did not appear in the last MiB film, so this event may foreshadow the return of Jay in the continuity of the movies. MiB: International was not received well by fans nor critics, but this may be the sign of better things to come for the current state of the franchise. Of course, while these rumors are well-timed with Smith’s Coachella appearance, they are not confirmed as of yet.