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On April 15th, Will Smith surprised fans with an appearance as Agent J from the Men in Black franchise during J Balvin‘s alien-themed performance at Coachella. The Oscar-winning actor performed his song “Men in Black” from the 1997 film of the same name, wearing the iconic black suit and sunglasses. “Men in Black” was Smith’s debut single and won him his Grammy in 1998 for Best Rap Solo Performance.
During the performance, Smith and Balvin were surrounded by aliens and MIB agents performing dance moves reminiscent to the original music video. Smith ended the performance by pulling out a neuralyzer and used a flash to “wipe the memory” of the audience.
The Men in Black franchise is based on a comic book of the same name created by writer Lowell Cunningham and artist Sandy Carruthers. Originally published by Aircel Comics in 1990, the comic book was inspired by the actual “Men in Black” conspiracy theory that government agents dressed in black would cover up evidence of alien existence.
Smith portrayed Agent J in the first 3 films of the franchise with his last appearance being in 2012 for Men in Black 3. The franchise also has an animated series and released a fourth film, Men in Black: International in 2019 starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson.
