Will Smith may be absent from Men in Black: International, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with being an agent. Enter Blue Sky’s newest feature, Spies in Disguise, where super spy Lance Sterling (voiced by Smith), with the assistance by his dorky gadget creator Walter Beckett (Tom Holland), must undertake the ultimate espionage mission… in the form of a pigeon.

20th Century Fox has released the second trailer of the animated spy flick, packed to the brim with action and comedy.

Inspired by the 2009 animated short Pigeon: Impossible by Lucas Martell, the official synopsis of Spies in Disguise is as follows:

Super spy Lance Sterling (Will Smith) and scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland) are almost exact opposites. Lance is smooth, suave and debonair. Walter is … not. But when events take an unexpected turn, this unlikely duo are forced to team up for the ultimate mission that will require an almost impossible disguise – transforming Lance into the brave, fierce, majestic… pigeon. Walter and Lance suddenly have to work as a team, or the whole world is in peril. “Spies in Disguise” flies into theaters this Christmas.

In addition to Smith and Holland, others who are part of the cast include Ben Mendelsohn ($9.99) as Tristan McFord, Karen Gillan (Emo Dad) as Eyes, Rashida Jones (The Grinch) as Marcy Kappel, DJ Khaled as Ears, Masi Oka (The Proud Family Movie) as Agent K (unrelated to the MIB agent).

Produced by Fox Animation, Blue Sky Studios, and Chernin Entertainment, Spies in Disguise will kickstart the feature directing careers of storyboard artist Troy Quane and animator Nick Bruno, accompanied with a script written by Ferdinand‘s Brad Copeland.

Spies in Disguise is set to continue Blue Sky’s current non-sequel streak that started with Ferdinand. Trying something different and not based on an IP is commendable on Blue Sky’s part, allowing them to push their talents with a slick style, impressive action-packed set pieces, and solid chemistry between Smith and Holland. But the one big obstacle this film must face is Disney, who acquired Fox back in March.

The Walt Disney Studios reorganized the release schedule of all Disney and Fox releases on May 7 of this year. Among the schedule changes, Spies in Disguise was delayed by three months and is now set for Christmas Day, 2019. This date is just a mear five days after Disney’s hotly-anticipated release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, making this a threat to the Spies‘ box office run. But considering how Ferdinand did okay business competing with The Last Jedi, hopefully, Spies could perform similarly.

Furthermore in Dinsey’s schedule shuffling, Blue Sky’s planned musical Foster was removed for unknown reasons, leaving the project in limbo. The studio’s other future film, Nimona, is fortunately still releasing, abet with a one-year delay for March 5, 2021, which takes over Foster‘s abandoned date. Fox Animation’s non-Blue Sky productions of 2020, including Bob’s Burgers: The Movie and Ron’s Gone Wrong, are still on track for release on July 17 and November 6 of the said year respectively.

Now having to co-exist with both Disney Animation and Pixar, will Blue Sky have a future once Nimona releases in 2021? Will they be a studio that Disney would want to keep in the long-run? At this point, it’s too early to know if this will be a new beginning for the Connecticut-based studio or their last hurrah. Regardless though, we do wish both the film and the team at Blue Sky all the best with this release.

For those keen to spy on Spies in Disguise, the film will now be releasing on December 25, 2019, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures under the 20th Century Fox banner.

Are you excited to see Smith and Holland team up in animated form? Do you think Blue Sky is going to fit in with Disney in the long-run?