MUMBAI: Sony Pictures has signed Michael Stuhlbarg for a role in Men In Black III that the studio wants to release next year. In all likelihood, Stuhlbarg will be asked to play the role of Griffin which was originally to be played by Sharlto Copley, who caught the audience’s eye in the 2009 hit District 9.

Similar was the case of the 42-year old Stuhlbarg who was unknown until the Coen Bros. cast him in their 2009 film A Serious Man, that landed him a Golden Globe nomination.

Since then, Stuhlbarg has teamed up twice with Martin Scorsese on the stellar HBO series Boardwalk Empire and the forthcoming children‘s fantasy Hugo Cabret.

Barry Sonnenfeld is once again directing Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the threequel with Emma Thompson, Josh Brolin, Alice Eve, Jermaine Clement and more joining the cast.

Men In Black III will be released on standard and 3D screens on 25 May next year.