'Men in Black' spinoff news: Steven Spielberg as EP, script by 'Iron Man' writers

Agent K and Agent J from "Men in Black 3." Sadly, the two will not be coming back in the upcoming movie.Sony Pictures

Hollywood's classy galaxy defenders are back, as a "Men in Black" (MIB) spinoff by Sony is reportedly in the works with a planned 2019 release. However, the cheeky Agent J (Will Smith) and his stern partner and mentor Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) will not be reprising their roles in the upcoming film.

The new movie will still be set in the same universe as the original "Men in Black" trilogy but rest assured, it will not be a remake of the first movie which came out in 1997. According to Deadline, the spinoff will be similar to "Jurassic World" in that it rebooted the "Jurassic Park" franchise. Thus, the upcoming movie will still take into account what happened in the past three films of the franchise.

At the helm of production is executive producer Steven Spielberg, now a veteran guru of science fiction films. The script is allegedly being written by Matt Holloway and Art Marcum, writers responsible for the 2008 "Iron Man" and "Transformers: The Last Knight."

The upcoming "MIB" film will supposedly happen on a more global scale compared to the focused narratives of the trilogy. Walter Parkes, one of the producers of the spinoff stated, "It's so rare to get to the end of the script and know you're holding a movie in your hands, but Art and Matt have written a spinoff that somehow is true to the core of the 'MiB' world and yet expands the franchise to a fresh new place."

The upcoming movie was a surprise since it was previously thought that "Men in Black" would appear only as a mash-up with the "Jump Street" universe and franchise from Sony. Still, the crossover is in development although the spinoff is set to happen first.

The upcoming spinoff of "Men in Black" has no exact title yet but is expected to be released on May 17, 2019.