New 'Men in Black' Trailer: Why Isn't Will Smith in It?

The trailer for the new MIB film, Men in Black: International just dropped and people have a lot to be excited for, even if Will Smith isn't in it. First off, the movie's directed by Felix Gary Gray, whose film repertoire is what I'd like to call, and this is no understatement, ridiculous.

The man directed the indie-smash, cult-classic, genre-defining Friday. Then he goes on to do larger-scale projects like The Italian Job, The Fate of the Furious, and Law Abiding Citizen. Oh, and if you liked Straight Outta Compton, then yeah, he's responsible for that, too.

That's just the direction of the film (which is arguably, everything), but then there's casting, which looks absolutely amazing. Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth will be joining forces again in an entirely different franchise. We saw the two of them perform wonderfully together in Thor: Ragnarok and the casting gods have decided to bless viewers with their joint presence in another cinematic venture.

My personal favorite discovery from the new trailer is that Liam friggin' Neeson is in the movie. I'm assuming he's joined MIB because a bunch of aliens kidnapped his daughter or something, but that's pure speculation.

As awesome as the casting for the movie series is, and how good it looks from the trailer, fans all over have one very big question:

Will Smith recently made headlines after his human-form-Genie-look from the upcoming live-action Disney remake of Aladdin didn't go over too well with the internet.

Now Will is a part of another controversy, but this time, it isn't about his hairstyle and a lack of blue-CGI: it's because he's not part of a project that fans of the series have associated him with for years. Not to mention that amazing song he came up with for the movie.

As of now, unless there's a big cameo surprise in store from the film's producer, MIB: International will not be featuring the Fresh Prince star in its final print. I even checked the movie's IMDb page to see if he's somehow affiliated with the film, and he's not.

People are saying it's a hard sell as a result, especially because none of the new movie's original stars are featured in the trailer. That's right: no Tommy Lee Jones, either.

While some fans understand the film justifies Will and Tommy's absence by dubbing it the "International" version of the MIB division, others want to know why they'd continue the franchise without then when both of the series' favorite stars are around and able to play the roles.

But those with astute eyes noticed they actually did appear in the trailer, technically speaking.

Fans of the films will recognize a painting of Agents J and K battling it out with the giant cockroach from the first movie. While it's probably just a brief homage, similar to what the latest Ghostbusters film (which also stars Hemsworth) features with past actors in the series, it still has a lot of fans excited for the prospect of the two making a brief appearance in the film. There's also a bunch of other Easter Eggs that are worth checking out as well.

What do you think? Are you excited to see the fourth installment of the Men in Black franchise, or is it Will Smith or bust?