'Men in Black' director says he's never seen 'Men in Black: International,' despite being an executive producer on it

• Barry Sonnenfeld told Insider why he thinks "Men in Black: International" was a box-office bust.
• Despite having only ever seen the trailer, he believes the two leads weren't different enough.

After the huge success of "Men in Black" in 1997, Sony made the hit into a franchise with director Barry Sonnenfeld helming two sequels, all starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Since Hollywood is always looking for a good reboot, "MiB" got its chance in 2019 with "Men in Black: International," starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson as the black-suited agents.

It didn't turn out well. The movie was panned by critics (it has a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), only earned $80 million at the domestic box office, and led to the head of Sony admitting that the reboot idea wasn't "strong enough."

Sonnenfeld has his own take on the movie's failure, despite having never seen it.

Though the director has an executive producer credit on "International," he revealed to Insider he was not involved in the reboot, which was directed by F. Gary Gray.

"I had nothing to do with it. I just got a credit," Sonnenfeld said.

"By the end of the third movie, I knew that Will, Tommy, and I were done with the franchise," he added.

"The laughs didn't come out of jokes or acknowledging that something you did or said is a joke," he said. "Also, you need two different kinds of performers. You really do need a straight man and a comedian. You need Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin."

Sonnenfeld felt that was the downfall of "Men in Black: International."

"Now, I didn't see 'Men in Black: International,' but I've seen the trailer and I didn't think there was enough difference in attitude between the leads," he said. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel you don't want two funny people in your movie, ever."

Since the release of "International," there have been reports that there was once talk of combining the "Men in Black" franchise with "21 Jumpstreet," the action-comedy starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum.

Sonnenfeld gave his take on that idea, as well.

"I've never seen a page of it," he told Insider. "I think it seems like an expensive idea with a lot of high-priced producers let alone actors."