Sony Pictures has hired Oren Uziel to pen the scripts for both Men In Black 4 and 21 Jump Street 2. Uziel, who is working with the studio to develop his black list script The Kitchen Sink, will write the 21 Jump Street sequel first before moving onto the next Men In Black film. Of course, details on both projects are being kept well under wraps at this point.
Though he currently doesn’t have much of a resume, Uziel has the aforementioned Kitchen Sink in development and he’s also working on a few other high profile projects. He’s been tapped to write the Mortal Kombat reboot, he’ll be adapting the novel Downtown Owl and he’s also writing Julius Onah’s God Particle for Paramount and Bad Robot. Clearly, this guy must be good if Sony is trusting him to pen two big sequels.
Men In Black 3 pulled in a healthy $625 million worldwide last Summer while 21 Jump Street surprised everyone with over $200 million worldwide. It was obvious that both films would be receiving sequels and personally, I’m happy to see both these franchises earn another outing.
Men In Black 3, though I didn’t have high expectations for it, was a very enjoyable blockbuster that left me wanting more. It didn’t receive the greatest reviews but I had a ton of fun with it and am pleased to hear confirmation that Sony will be going ahead with the sequel. As for 21 Jump Street, it provided more laughs than any other film last year and Hill and Tatum exuded a wonderful chemistry, which will likely carry on into the sequel.
So, everything is in place now for these two sequels to get off the ground. All we can say is that we hope the still unproven Uziel is up to the task. Sony isn’t stupid though, if they’re placing these two large properties in his hands, I’m sure he has some considerable talent.
What do you think? Can Oren Uziel deliver with Men In Black 4 and 21 Jump Street 2?
