Steven Spielberg is set to executive produce the spinoff, having exec produced the original trilogy. Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald are producing. David Beaubaire is overseeing for the studio.

The original Men in Black (1997) made $589 million at the global box office and led to two sequels with Jones and Smith — one in 2002 and one a decade later in 2012. The entire franchise has been ultra-profitable for Sony, bringing in more than $1.5 billion globally.

Separately, the studio also has also considered a 21 Jump Street and Men in Black crossover movie, an idea that first became publicly known as part of the 2014 Sony hack.

In March 2016, THR reported Muppets director James Bobin was in early talks to helm the film, but Jump Street star Jonah Hill said a few months later that he doubted the movie would ever happen.

Sony is fast-tracking the MIB spinoff project, already slating it for a May 17, 2019, release. On that date, the pic would be going up against Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter 3.