We ride together, we die together. Bad Boys for Life.
That’s the official title of Joe Carnahan’s Bad Boys 3, the long-rumored action sequel that has simmered on the fringes of development for the better part of 13 years. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back as chest-beating detectives Lowery and Burnett, and the threequel recently staked out a January 12, 2018 release date.
It’s a slight delay to production, considering that Sony and Carnahan were initially eyeing up a primetime June 2017 window. Nevertheless, Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, and The Grey) holds up Bad Boys for Life as “the strongest of the trilogy thus far.”
Per io9:
“Unless you’re Toy Story 3, usually third ones aren’t the strongest, and I think this one will be the strongest of the trilogy thus far. There’s a lot of funny shit in this movie. And there’s also a very mysterious, but tonally spot-on story that I think is kind of perfect for where we are in this day and age, where the guys are and reflectively, a very modern take on these guys. It’s kind of what becomes of Bad Boys when they’re not boys anymore.”
Aware of the added pressure of reigniting a franchise that has been on hiatus since 2003, the filmmaker went on to discuss how Bad Bays 3 is a straight-up sequel, claiming that Smith and Lawrence are so integral to the balls-to-the-wall action franchise that recasting was out of the question.
“When you’re coming back after 15 years, you better come back with a home run ball. And I really believe that’s what we have….We’ve got a responsibility to make something that’s absolutely equivalent or exceeds what comes before. That’s a really important thing for all of us. There’s only one Will Smith and one Martin Lawrence. You can’t replace those guys and I wouldn’t want to be involved if it wasn’t Will and Martin. They are that franchise.”
Fifteen years on from their last gun-toting outing, Bad Boys for Life will cruise into theaters on January 12, 2018.
