Will Smith: 'Bad Boys 3' is 'official'

Star takes to Instagram alongside co-star Martin Lawrence

Will Smith promoting Suicide Squad in Dubai in 2017. Mona Al Marzooqi/ The National
Powered by automated translation

Regular Dubai visitor Will Smith took to Instagram last night alongside his Bad Boys ­co-star Martin Lawrence to announce that the third installment of the popular buddy-cop-comedy is "official."

The video showed the pair at the beach, as Smith tells viewers: “It’s official, baby! It’s official! Bad boys 3 is happening! It’s official! It’s official!”  Lawrence added: “It’s official.”

It's been 15 years since the pair last reunited as narcotics cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett in 2003's Bad Boys 2, and although Smith didn't give much away in terms of details, it doesn't seem to unreasonable to assume Michael Bay, who directed the first two films, may also return to the franchise, perhaps after he's finished with the Ryan Reynolds-starring 6 Underground, which is due to shoot in Abu Dhabi this month.

Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly as recently as 2017 that the third film wasn't likely to happen. "I don't think we're going to get one, not the way everything's turning out," he said. "Will is off doing another movie, and I don't think it's going to happen."

Lawrence did add that he was happy to do another movie, however, should the studio give it the green light. “I’m there, I’m ready right now. If they wanted to do it, I’m ready, but I don’t have control of that. That’s the studio’s decision,” he said.

The original film was released in 1995 and centred on two detectives ordered to protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room of their police precinct.

Famously, Bay wasn’t a fan of the first movie’s script, and encouraged Smith and Lawrence to improvise while the cameras were rolling, with the resultant ad libs forming some of the movie’s most popular moments.

The formula seemingly worked – the film took over $140m at the international on a modest $19m budget, despite largely lukewarm reviews.

__________________________

Will Smith is loving Dubai from the sky, sea and desert

Will Smith: a look back over his UAE visits