Next week sees the science fiction film, “Men In Black: International” posted on otsoNY, which as a result has prompted a revisit in November of the first two movies in the franchise which starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Film Poster: MIB:International

"Men in Black: International" was released in the summer of 2019, and more recently on DVD. The film stars a host of big names such as Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Liam Neeson and Emma Thompson, who reprises her role from the third film. Notably missing from the line-up is Will Smith, who for this one was replaced by female lead Tessa Thompson. Though it is not the first time the franchise has had a woman MIB. At the end of the original movie, Linda Fiorentino stepped into the supporting role just before the closing credits. It is though the first time that there has been a female lead.

Previously seen in “Avengers: Endgame”, Tessa Thompson breakthrough role came in Tina Mabry's 2009 independent film “Mississippi Damned”. She gained further recognition for her starring roles as Nyla Adrose in the drama film “For Colored Girls”, civil rights activist Diane Nash in the historical drama film “Selma”, Bianca Taylor in the sports drama film “Creed” and its sequel “Creed II”. Besides her acting talents, Thompson is also a singer-songwriter, and has in the past been a member of the Los Angeles-based indie electro soul band Caught a Ghost, and contributed to the soundtracks for both “Creed” and “Creed II”, for which she co-wrote and performed several songs with producer Moses Sumney.

Promotional Image of Tessa Thompson as Agent M and Chris Hemsworth as Agent H

In “Men In Black: International” Tessa plays Molly Wright, who as a child living in Brooklyn witnessed her parents being neutralised by agents of Men in Black while she helped an alien escape, avoiding neutralisation herself. Twenty-three years later in 2019, rejected from FBI and CIA due to her delusions regarding alien life, Molly tracks down an alien landing and follows MiB agents to MiB headquarters in New York City. Caught entering the agency, Molly makes an impression on Agent O, arguing that she has proven her skills and has no life outside her search for the agency. She is awarded probationary agent status as ‘Agent M’ and assigned to the organisation's London branch.

New York film locations from "Men in Black: International" include the MIB Headquarters near Battery Park as well as Water Street and Pearl Street in Brooklyn.