It’s a Damn Shame the Directors of ‘Project Hail Mary’ Never Got To Make This Ridiculous Crossover Movie

The filmmaking team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller has become among the best in Hollywood. Currently, Project Hail Mary is killing it with critics and at the box office in what’s certain to be one of the best movies of 2026. It should be no surprise. Lord and Miller have had one hit after another for nearly two decades. They’re the team behind Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, and in one of the best and most surprising comedies of the century, 21 Jump Street, along with its sequel, 22 Jump Street. Fans really wanted a third movie, and although Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill never returned to their roles, they almost did in the wildest of ways: a crossover with Men in Black.

‘Men in Black’ and ’21 Jump Street’ Were Huge Hits

In the mid-90s, Will Smith was arguably the most popular actor on the planet. After his hit NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, combined with a successful musical career on top of it, Smith took Hollywood by storm. Three years in a row he had films that dominated at the box office. In 1995, there was Bad Boys, followed by an even bigger Independence Day in 1996, and Men in Black in 1997. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Smith played James Edwards in Men in Black, a carefree, wisecracking New York City cop who becomes part of a secret organization that tracks down the aliens that live among us. With his ultra-serious, grumpy mentor, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), by his side, Men in Black was a fresh and hilarious action comedy done so well that it led to a franchise.

Fifteen years later, another successful comedy, 21 Jump Street, was a box office hit, although no one expected it. Based on the Fox TV series starring Johnny Depp, another movie based on a show could have failed badly. Instead, thanks to Michael Bacall‘s script, Lord and Miller’s directing talent, and the chemistry shown in laugh-until-you-cry performances from Tatum and Hill, 21 Jump Street surprised everyone and led to an equally funny follow-up, 22 Jump Street. Outside of being entertaining movies, Men in Black and 21 Jump Street seemed to have nothing in common, yet a crossover came so close to happening.

What Would a ‘Men in Black’ and ’21 Jump Street’ Crossover Been About?

News of a crossover between the two franchises leaked due to a hack of Sony Pictures in 2014. The film, which had the early title of MIB 23, was not going to be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. They would have served as producers, with James Bobin, the director of 2011’s The Muppets, being looked at someone who could potentially bring the idea to life. If this seems like an odd choice, go back and watch the film. He and Jason Segel brought Jim Henson’s beloved characters back and made them fun all over again.

In a 2022 appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Joshua Horowitz, Lord and Miller talked about what could have been. Miller recalled that the “crossover script that was very funny and very crazy that we really adored,” before going into greater detail about the plot. “It was basically the idea was that Jonah and Channing… a thing happened while they were doing their medical school adventure that got them embroiled into the world of Men in Black, and they ended up teaming up to stop an alien takeover type of thing.”

Lord brought up an additional detail about a hilarious idea from the script. “Like the black suits were like martial arts belts that you had to work your way up to black and that [Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum] were issued powder blue Men in Black suits.” Just that visual alone is enough to sell a movie.

Channing Tatum Revealed Why the Movie Will Never Happen

Unfortunately, the stars of the Men in Black trilogy, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, weren’t set to be part of the crossover with 21 Jump Street, at least not in leading roles. Perhaps a likely scenario would have seen Agents J and K handing off their duties to Morton (Hill) and Greg (Tatum) or coming in to save the day at the end. Either way, there certainly would have been a lot of comedic potential in having one weird cop and one really dense one tracking down aliens.

MIB 23 has yet to happen, and unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that it ever will. In a 2025 interview with Variety, Channing Tatum explained why, telling the outlet

“I don’t think it’ll ever happen. The problem is the overhead. It would cost as much as the actual budget of the film — if not more — because of all the producers involved. It’s just too top-heavy. It falls over every time.”

With all of the talent involved, if anyone could have made MIB 23, it would have been them. Still, it’s probably for the best that it never came to be. The Men in Black franchise was already starting to sputter at the end of the third movie. Meanwhile, the less that is said about 2019’s Men in Black: International, the better. Without Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the concept doesn’t work. If a third 21 Jump Street movie is going to get made, how about a crossover with another alien movie from Phil Lord and Chris Miller? Project Jump Street anyone?

21 Jump Street is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.