Tessa Thompson is making big moves. It was just announced that she will be working alongside Chris Hemsworth in what’s sure to be another blockbuster success– the upcoming Men In Black spinoff.
The good looking pair first teamed up in the Hollywood hit Thor: Ragnarok.
And another one
According to Variety, F. Gary Gray, who previously helmed Straight Outta Compton and The Fate of the Furious, is on board to direct.
Sony fast-tracked the project earlier this fall, attaching Matt Holloway and Art Marcum to co-write the script and setting a May 17, 2019 release date.
Steven Spielberg is executive producing.
Big shoes to fill
The original movie Men In Black starred A-list actors Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The duo played agents of a secret organization, known as the Men in Black. The unlikely partners were charged with protecting Earth from intergalactic bad guys.
The first film was a major box office hit and produced two sequels.
Putting in work
Thompson was recently seen at the Sundance Film Festival helping to promote the sci-fi comedy “Sorry to Bother You.”
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The movie features a ton of stars including herself, Lakeith Stanfield, Omari Hardwick, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Armie Hammer, and Jermaine Fowler just to name a few. By the looks of the trailer, viewers are in for a mind-bending treat:
The plot is described as an alternate present-day version of Oakland, where telemarketer Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) discovers a magical key to professional success. The discovery propels him into a strange universe.
That “magical key” is the ability to “sound like a white man” on the phone. Using his new found talent, he quickly climbs to the top of the corporate ladder.
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His fictional company’s millionaire CEO, Steve Lift (Armie Hammer) is a coke-snorting character Cassius must deal with on his rise to the top as he also grapples with his disapproving love interest, Detroit (Tessa Thompson.)
The quick-witted satire tackles several social issues including misogyny, drugs, racism, corporatism, feminism, community, assimilation, unionization, gentrification, and code-switching, among others. It also features an eye-patch-wearing, Omari Hardwick as “Mr. Blank.” So yeah… there’s that.
The film, written and directed by rapper and The Coup co-founder, Boots Riley, premiered at Sundance and is currently showing at SXSW. It’s set to be released on July 6th.
In addition, look for the LA native to join the cast of HBO’s Westworld as they head into their second season as well as the highly-anticipated sequel to Creed.