The low-down: The original comics might be worth plundering again for screen. Therein, the eponymous MIBs were a much shadier organisation – killing witnesses, shaping history to their own corrupt means and investigating paranormal legends like werewolves, zombies and demons. Although making all that click for a family audience might be tough (particularly the killing people bit), showcasing something a little darker could be very interesting.

The probability: You never quite know where the MIBs are at. The same is true from our real-world perspective on the franchise. Men In Black 3 picked up some very negative reviews but also some noteworthy support (the late Roger Ebert loved it) and a hefty box office total of nearly $625m. The two leads – now Josh Brolin and Will Smith – would consider returns apparently and (hopefully jokey) rumours of Jaden Smith taking over have been circulated. The main indicator of a sooner-than-you-think sequel though, is the fact that Oren Uziel began work on a script in 2013. Uziel helped with scripting 22 Jump Street, which can only be a good thing for the future of Barry Sonnenfeld’s mixed-bag franchise.

Kick Ass 3

The comic: Mark Millar and John Romita Jr’s latest Kick-Ass installment follows on on, inevitably, from Kick-Ass 2 and closes the story off. The series so far has been published by Marvel’s Icon imprint.

The low-down: What we do know about Kick Ass 3 came from a Mark Millar interview from June 2013. “Kick-Ass 3 is going to be the last one,” he said. “I told Universal this and they asked me, ‘What does that mean?’ I said, ‘It means that this is where it all ends.’ They said, ‘Do they all die at the end?’ I said, ‘Maybe.’”

This might be an empty threat or just a tease to try and stimulate some interest. However, upping the stakes and bringing back the ultra-violence might be the best way to bring the franchise back up to the standard of the original.