Men in Black: International is the fourth installment in the much-loved sci-fi action-comedy franchise, but also the first to have a female lead. With Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones out the picture, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson star as Agents H and M, and the latter hopes that future films can up the inclusiveness even more by changing the brand’s name.
As reported by The Washington Examiner, Thompson explained at Tuesday’s world premiere of the movie in New York City that she pitched a few alternate titles for MiB:I but none of them sounded quite right.
“I pitched some ideas like ‘People in Black,’ but that would be ‘PiB,’ which sounds like a sandwich. I pitched ‘Humans in Black,’ which would be ‘HiB,’ which sounds like something you don’t want to get,”
Though her attempts to rebrand the name of the alien-busting organization fell on deaf ears on this occasion, the actress hopes that a name-change will stick in time as the blockbuster industry is growing more inclusive.
”I think we can change the name at some point. But the truth is, I think it’s really significant, and I hope we can get to the space where it’s not noteworthy when women topline these films, and I think a film like this helps us get there.”
Interestingly, Thompson’s comments echo something said by Marvel’s EVP Victoria Alonso last week. The Marvel Studios exec has stated that she’d like the X-Men brand to be changed to better reflect the female members of the mutant superhero team when the franchise is folded into the MCU. If more producers like Alonso and stars like Thompson keep pushing for things like this, real change could be made across the board.
In the meantime, Men in Black: International blasts into theaters tomorrow, June 14th.
Published: Jun 13, 2019 06:23 pm