Recent developments suggest "Bad Boys 3" is closer than ever to being made, with Sony Pictures making the announcement that it has locked down a screenwriter for the franchise.
Moviepilot reports that Joe Carnahan has been selected to take over writing duties for "Bad Boys 3", and may be in the running to be selected as director as well. Carnahan will work from a draft script penned by David Guggenheim, who previously wrote "Safe House".
If picked to helm the project, it would obviously mean that Michael Bay is out of the picture. For his part, however, Carnahan definitely has the pedigree to take over the reins of a high-octane franchise like "Bad Boys", having previously directed the 2010 cinematic adaptation of "The A-Team" as well as the Liam Neeson thriller "The Grey", for which he earned some critical acclaim. Carnahan has likewise handled some projects for TV, serving as showrunner for NBC's "State of Affairs" as well as directing a few episodes of "The Blacklist".
However, there has been no word yet whether lead stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are returning to the roles of Miami PD narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. Smith is currently wrapping up production in Canada for the role of Deadshot in "Suicide Squad" and Deadline hints that the sudden spike in Sony's interest in the franchise is for Smith to make "Bad Boys 3" his next project. For his part, Lawrence has said a year ago that he is warm to the idea of returning for the third act of the police action franchise.
The sequel to 2003's smash action hit Bad Boys 2 has always been in the cards for Sony Pictures ever since the former grossed more than $400 Million worldwide. While it is too early to tell, it may be possible that with the announcement of Carnahan as screenwriter and possibly as director, and Will Smith being available soon, "Bad Boys 3" may be in theaters sometime in 2016.
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