A new Men in Black film is in development.

Sony Pictures are planning to relaunch the sci-fi action-comedy franchise with a new movie that is being penned by Bad Boys for Life scribe Chris Bremner.

Plot details are yet to be revealed but insiders say that the plan is to give the script to Will Smith once Bremner has completed it in the hope that the star will reprise the role of Agent J.

It is not known if the character will feature in a starring or supporting role but the plan is to have Agent J back in some form.

However, sources have emphasised that Will is not attached to the flick and will not commit until he has read the script.

The first Men in Black film was released in 1997 and spawned three sequels, with the franchise earning a collective US$1.904 billion (S$2.467 billion) at the global box office.

Will previously revealed that he "wasn't happy" with the second and third movies in the Men in Black franchise as he feared that reviving the Bad Boys franchise in 2020 could backfire.

Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at the time, the 57-year-old star said: "I have fumbled a couple of my last sequels, you know, I wasn't happy with the Men in Black sequel and I just really wanted to make sure that this was a standalone film that people would have a real, brand new experience."