Here’s The ‘Emotionally Complete’ Reason Why Will Smith And Tommy Lee Jones Aren’t In The New ‘Men In Black’

Men in Black: International stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, not Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones like the first three films in the sci-fi comedy series. Based on reviews, they were wise to not reprise their roles as Agents J and K, but there’s another reason why they didn’t put the shades on again.

During a recent interview with Variety, producer Laurie MacDonald revealed that after Men in Black 3 came out in 2012, “we did all talk about the fact that we that we didn’t feel there was another film… We all talked about it feeling very complete, that somehow because the third dealt with the mystery of Will’s father, it felt emotionally complete.” She added, “All of us collectively didn’t think that we’d go on with that, and we didn’t even begin developing [Men in Black: International] for a couple of years because we weren’t sure we would.”

In other words, there were no more stories left to tell about everyone’s favorite galaxy defenders — their character arcs were complete. The fresh start also allowed director F. Gary Gray and writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway to expand the setting from New York to London and beyond. There’s one big connection between International and the first two MIB films, though: the return of Frank the Pug, who, weirdly, wasn’t in Men in Black 3. No offense to Hemsworth and Thompson, but they’re no street-smart, talking pug in a hoodie.

The hero New York (and international!) needs.