Men in Black (also known as MIB) is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, produced by Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald and written by Ed Solomon. Loosely based on The Men in Black comic book series created by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers, the film stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as two agents of a secret organization called the Men in Black, who supervise extraterrestrial lifeforms who live on Earth and hide their existence from ordinary humans. The film featured the creature effects and makeup of Rick Baker and visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic. The film was released in the United States on July 2, 1997, by Columbia Pictures, and grossed over $589.3 million worldwide against a $90 million budget, becoming the year's third highest-grossing film. It received positive reviews, with critics praising its humor, action sequences, Jones and Smith's performances, special effects and Danny Elfman's musical score. The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Original Score and Best Makeup, winning the latter award. The film spawned two sequels, Men in Black II (2002) and Men in Black 3 (2012); a spin-off film, Men in Black: International (2019); and a 1997–2001 animated series.
Men in Black
X-Men (2000) Influences
for X-Men (2000) Influences in X-Men: Re-imagined
Suggested by bencasting
My attempt to reorganise X-Men films into a more cohesive timeline. X-Men (2000): Growing fear of mutants. Focus on the X-men’s found-family dynamic across generations. Rogue given more character development. Clash with Magneto & the Brotherhood stopping his increasingly extreme plan. X-Men: Mankind (2003): Wolverine’s past emerges through flashbacks. The cruelty of William Stryker’s Weapon X program forces the X-Men and Magneto into a reluctant alliance, while Jean Grey’s powers are pushed to the limit saving the team. X-Men: Phoenix Rising (2007): Jean, believed dead, returns with the Phoenix Force, amplifying her anger at humans, Charles & Magneto. She causes destruction, struggles morally, and ultimately chooses to take control of the power, manifesting as the Phoenix in the sky and removing herself from the world. Sentinel program quietly advances. X-Men: First Class (2010): Nathaniel Essex as architect pulling strings from the shadows. More time with Erik hunting Nazis. More comic-accurate Emma Frost; Darwin survives; Havok swapped to fix continuity. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2013): Mostly the same but with enough focus and better lines for characters to give them time to shine. X-Men: Bloodlines (2023): Set against the fall of the iron curtain – Mr. Sinister is abducting unregistered mutants across Europe. Setting traps for the x-men, to divide and capture Scott & Jean to harness their DNA. Jean’s powers surge during a showdown beneath Berlin, destroying Sinister’s archives, forcing his retreat. X-Men: Apocalypse (2025): Jeans power surge & Sinister’s failure awakens Apocalypse. Seeing his “pawn” could not control the X-Men or Jean’s cosmic power, Apocalypse corrupts 4 Horsemen to reshape the modern world. Guided by future Charles via the astral plane, Jean learns to control her Phoenix energy. The team overcome Apocalypse, entombing him & preventing his conquest.
