After ten years (and counting) of anticipation, we may finally have a concrete release date for the long-awaited final installment of the 'Bad Boys' trilogy, 'Bad Boys for Life'. The original film, starring the iconic duo of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, was released more than twenty years ago, in 1995, and its sequel in 2003. The two films whipped up a widespread cult following and made a combined profit of nearly $150 million, however, despite talks of creating a third film in the series dating back to 2008 (when the director of both previous installments, Michael Bay, suggested his interested), fans remain in suspense. Luckily it is not only the public waiting in exasperated excitement for the production and release of the cult classic's threequel; Will Smith apparently shares the frustration of his fans at the continuing delays, sharing a comical video clip on Instagram.
Various setbacks have delayed the production of this film (not in the least Smith's hectic work schedule) which was originally set to be released in February of 2017 and the revised to November of this year. However, arguably the greatest knock to the film's development came when director, Joe Carnaham, abandoned the project in March of last year, due to alleged "creative differences". Thankfully two new directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, have signed on to the film and Sony Pictures have given a third (and hopefully final) release date of January 2020.
In the meantime, some details of a potential plot have been released, which might appease eager fans for the time-being. The narrative of 'Bad boys for Life' is reportedly set in the midst of Mike Lowery's (Smith) midlife crisis, as he is forced to work alongside a new, young, and cocky partner, while Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) is working as a private eye. If rumors of the plot are to be believed, the two men have become estranged, only to be unexpectedly reunited when both are placed on the hitlist of an Albanian mercenary in an act of vengeance for the death of his brother. There have also been discussions of the potential return of Jessica Alba and Gabrielle Union in their roles as Nancy McKenna and Special Agent Sed Burnett.
With a slowly emerging plot-line, a (hopefully) concrete release date, and new directors signed, it finally seems that, after fifteen years of waiting, the third Bad Boys film might actually become a reality. Let us just wish that El Arbi and Fallah stick around for long enough to bring this dream to life - so hopefully Will Smith's next Instagram post will be more optimistic
