MEN IN BLACK 3, GHOSTBUSTERS 3 officially announced

Rory Bruer, the President of Sony Pictures Entertainment announced at the Sony ShoWest panel this week that third portions of the Men in Black and Ghostbusters franchises were officially in development, both set to be released in 2011. Ghostbusters 3 of course we already knew about but it's still interesting he made the announcement because it's no longer a project quietly being written by the writers of The Office which might happen if all the pieces fall into the right place, it's now a publicly announced feature with an expected release year. We expect to hear lots more announcements around the time of the video game/blu-ray release on June 6th, Ghostbusters official 25th year anniversary. At this point we know Bill Murray seems to have agreed upon a return, as has Harold Ramis and Dan Ackroyd. Ernie Hudson, you can't imagine wouldn't want to be in this feature and Sigourney Weaver was interested enough to have lunch with Bill Murray around Christmas time to discuss the possibility of a new movie. With The Office connections, one wonders whether Steve Carrell, John Krasinski, or any of the other Office workers will move into Ghostbusting, and although it's been denied... we still believe Judd Apatow is on board as a producer/consultant, so fans can still hope to get their wish of seeing SethRogen, Paul Rudd and more from the Apatow crew in this feature. And a Summer 2011 release is highly probable given the fact the script is only months away from being handed in and if Sony/Columbia like what they see... a director, crew and shooting dates will fall into place soon after. But the announcement on Men in Black 3 is new and although always a property we thought Sony were itching to pull the trigger on when they were struggling to fill a tentpole. Will Smith's role in Hancock will give credence to the fact that he isn't afraid to go broad action/comedy with his Summer blockbusters, so he isn't beyond the realm of attainability here. Tommy Lee Jones always looked like he had a fun time with this franchise, so he too could return. Though the pain of Men in Black 2 might still be too much for them to bare. And without a writer/director, and obviously no script... to see this move in theatres in two years time is a big stretch. Maybe 2012, if all things work out for the next 12 months and 2011 is already looking packed as it is.