Will Smith Once Shared How Doing ‘Ali’ Made Him Want to Do ‘Men in Black II

Will Smith hasn’t done another Men in Black movie since he admittedly fumbled the franchise’s last two films. But before Men in Black II, Smith wasn’t exactly known for doing sequels. After doing a film like Ali, however, Smith needed to do a much simpler film for his own sake.

Will Smith needed to go back to being himself after ‘Ali’

Despite his career having come a long way since then, Ali might still be one of the actor’s most challenging movies. Based on Muhammad Ali, the goal for Smith wasn’t just to play the heavyweight boxer. In an old interview with ABC News, he shared that director Michael Mann wanted to completely transform him into Ali.

“He said, ‘We’re going to find the greatest trainers in the world to teach you how to fight,'” Smith said. “‘We’re going to understand every second of Muhammad Ali’s life. We’re going to understand what he ate … how he viewed the world … how his mother felt about him, how his father felt about him.”

Smith might’ve succeeded since he even managed to convince Ali himself with an accent he developed for the part. But the Concussion star admitted that he strayed too far away from his true self in the process. Smith’s Ali transformation helped motivate him to do his first film sequel Men in Black II.

“You know, Ali was so far away from who I am, I adjusted my instincts so much for that film, I just wanted to be home, you know. So for me MiB II was almost like coming home. A family reunion, some place I felt comfortable doing comedy. The transition was a little bumpy but once Tommy Lee Jones got on the set, it smoothed out and it was great for me,” he once told BBC.

Will Smith recently had the bag thrown at him for another ‘Men in Black’ sequel

At the time, Smith felt there were a few things fans might prefer about Men in Black II over the original. He reassured that the sequel would’ve had more humor than its predecessor.

“I think this movie is actually funnier. The first film had a real element of surprise that I don’t think we’d be able to recapture, just because it came out of nowhere. People had no idea what they were going into the theatre to see. They had never seen a film like this. But I think we definitely captured the comedy this time. Overall, I think this is a better film than the first one,” he said.

He’d later do his first trilogy when he decided to make a Men in Black 3, where he collaborated with Josh Brolin. But before then, Smith had reservations about revisiting the franchise.

“We were very reticent about going to a [Men in Black] part III because sometimes it looks like you’re making a sequel for the sake of making a sequel,” he said in a separate BBC interview.

The third film was just as commercially successful as the first two. At the time, Smith seemed just satisfied enough with the project to not completely dismiss the possibility of a sequel. However, fans would’ve ultimately decided if Smith would ever reprise his role as Agent J again.

But the fact that Smith didn’t star in another Men in Black film might’ve indicated that fan reception for the third movie wasn’t all that reassuring. Smith also found the two sequels underwhelming in hindsight, which might’ve further dissuaded him from doing another project. However, he recently revealed he had yet another conversation for a potential sequel. This time, he was offered a check that even he found hard to turn down despite his huge net worth.

“I told myself I was done with sequels. I was like, ‘I’ve made enough sequels. I got some new things I want to make,’” he said on the Million Dollars Worth of Gains podcast. “Literally this morning, an hour before I came down here, they just threw the bag for another Men in Black. I was like, ‘Ah, I’m supposed to be going on tour this summer.’”