Bad Boys 3 is closer than ever to being a reality, as Martin Lawrence has confirmed that he will join Will Smith in the franchise’s next film.
In a photo posted to his Instagram page, Lawrence and Smith are seen standing together near the beach, with a caption revealing that the duo’s return is “official.” Lawrence also implied how the film’s rumored title may be official as well, including “Bad Boys for Life,” in his caption.
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Notably, it was previously reported that the only reason Bad Boys 3 has not yet gone into production was because Lawrence was the one main hold-out.
He recently dropped a hint that he would be returning to the franchise though, by posting a throwback photo of himself on the set of Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith, director Michael Bay, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
In February, it was announced that Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah would be directing the new Bad Boys film, taking over from Bay, who directed the first two.
While El Arbi and Fallah are not very well-known currently, most of their directing experience is with crime subject matter (FX’s Snowfall, 2015’s Black). They are also reportedly taking on another iconic cop-film series, as the duo have been announced as directing Beverly Hills Cop 4.
Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch recently spoke about the studio’s hopes and plans for the new film, saying, “If we’re going to make another Bad Boys after 15 years, it’s got to be next-level great.”
He also praised El Arbi and Fallah’s joint-vision for the third Bad Boys film, and revealed that they are lifelong fans of the franchise.
“These guys are amazing,” he continued. “They loved the first movies, but they’re not afraid to change things up.”
It seems the Bad Boys franchise has had trouble all-around with getting projects off the ground, as a spin-off pilot starring Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba was ordered by NBC, but ended up not getting picked up to series.
However, it was later picked up by Charter Communications and is scheduled to air its first 13-episode season on the company’s Spectrum channel sometime in 2019.
Titled L.A.’s Finest, the series stars Union as Syd Burnett, the character she originated in Bad Boys 2. Syd is the brother of Lawrence’s character, Marcus Burnett. Jessica Alba also co-stars in the upcoming series.
At this time, there is no word on how intersecting the series and new film may be with one another, but there is always a chance that either or both could feature cameos by stars from the other. Though that has not been confirmed.
