Bad Boys III to finally hit theatres after waiting 17 years

After enduring several false starts, the planned third instalment of the action-packed buddy-cop franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence - Bad Boys 3 - has been given a new release date.

Now slated to arrive nearly 17 years after Bad Boys II hit theatres, the long-gestating 'three-quel' has endured several false starts and was even pulled from the studio’s release calendar last year.

BAD BOYS 3

After it was pulled, Lawrence told EW that he was sure there will be no movie. “I don’t think we’re going to get one, not the way everything’s turning out.”

The new movie is set to arrive on January 17, 2020.

Back in 2016 during an interview with BBC Radio, Will Smith insisted that Bad Boys 3 would be happening, and will officially be titled, 'Bad Boys for Life'.

The filmmaking team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah is expected to direct Bad Boys For Life, with Jerry Bruckheimer back as producer.

The original Bad Boys, which launched Will Smith as an internationally-known star, bowed in April 1995 while the second in the franchise was released in July of 2003.

While it’s definitely good news that Bad Boys 3 finally has a release date, the placement isn’t too great. January is primarily viewed as a dumping ground for movies.

Still, releasing in that time frame does allow for studios to give movies smaller budgets and there is less competition, so it’s far too early to write off the date as a bad sign.

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As of right now, Bad Boys For Life is easily the biggest movie scheduled to hit theatres in January 2020. There will be more projects that fill out the schedule, obviously, but it may actually be the films that come before 2020 that end up being its biggest competition.

Star Wars: Episode IX and the sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle both release in December 2019. If both perform anything like their predecessors, then they will surely have a lot of staying power at the box office.

In 2017, a spinoff TV series on the original 1995 Bad Boys film was reportedly in the works, starring Gabrielle Union. She will be reprising her role from Bad Boys II for a television show.

Variety in January confirmed NBC had ordered a pilot for the potential spin-off. Union played Syd Burnett in the sequel, sister to Marcus (Martin Lawrence) and love interest to Mike (Will Smith).

The show will find Syd becoming an LAPD detective, who will partner will a cop named Nancy McKenna. In true buddy cop fashion, the two will be polar opposites who bicker at first, before coming together to do the job.

The show is obviously in its early stages, so it’s too soon to say if other cast members from the movies will make guest appearances. Martin Lawrence would be the obvious choice, though it would be nice to see Will Smith make a cameo too.

If the show manages to bring the movie’s hectic balance of comedy and action, it could be fun.