Twenty-three years after the original and fifteen years after the sequel, the long-in-development third installment of Bad Boys 3, now titled, Bad Boys for Life will hit theaters in 2018.
The title, a reference to their motto, ““We ride together, we die together, bad boys for life,” may have a new moniker but the release date is frightening, indeed. Originally, the film was scheduled for February 17, 2017, then delayed to June 2, 2017, the third installment has shifted dates yet again to the relatively quiet January 12, 2018.
Joe Carnahan (The A-Team and The Grey) takes over for Michael Bay, which promises to dial down the effects making the film grittier. Although Smith and Lawrence are expected to return, Sony had originally hoped to fast track the project to be the next movie for Smith after he’d finished with Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad, but the actor moved on to the drama, Collateral Beauty.
The original film was released in 1995 and it grossed a relatively tame $65 million, but by the time Smith and Bay returned with Bad Boys II in 2003, they both were big enough names for a $46.5 million domestic opening (not bad for an R-rated film at that time) and a worldwide gross of $273 million.
Jerry Bruckheimer is expected to return as a producer, with a screenplay by David Guggenheim (Safe House). Sony also has Bad Boys 4 scheduled for July 3, 2019, although as with other ambitious sequels planned as two films like Mad Max: Fury Road and Independence Day: Resurgence, the two Bad Boys sequels may be folded into one before all is said and done.