Will Smith and Martin Lawrence announced on Instagram that Sony and they are moving forward with the third film in the Bad Boys franchise.

The new movie entitled "Bad Boys for Life," starts production in January 2019 and is being helmed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. According to Deadline, the script is being written by Chris Bremner.

This third film in the franchise has been a priority for Sony, which will reunite the stars of the original film, which launched Will Smith's career and made Martin Lawrence an A-list star.

The first two Movies together earned $414.7 million globally.

The film is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who previously produced the first two films.

'Bad Boys' sequel originally a long shot

Martin Lawrence previously said that a sequel looked like a long shot. Lawrence said "I don't think we're getting a third film,"

"Will is occupied doing another film." Lawrence also said that he was ready to do it, but acknowledged it was not up to him. Some have said that "Bad Boys," is the "Lethal Weapon," for millennials.

Last summer, it was rumored that "Bad Boys for Life," was moving forward, but not confirmed until now. According to the May report, Sony Pictures is planning to release "Bad Boys for Life" on Jan. 17, 2020, which would put it a few months shy of releasing 17 years after "Bad Boys 2."

Sony originally intended to release the third film on June 2, 2017, but ended up delaying it multiple times and also lost director Joe Carnahan in March 2017.

It was rumored that Carnahan left over "creative differences." Michael Bay previously said that "Bad Boys," 3 was not going to happen.

Sony has put together a new team to helm 'Bad Boys,' Three

Digital Spy reported that David Guggenheim began writing a script and creating an outline in 2013. Guggenheim is best known for writing the script for "Safe House." Sony has remained silent on the filming schedule, but it's rumored that the third film would be in theaters by Martin Luther King Jr.

weekend in 2020.

Columbia Pictures president Sanford Panitch said that if they were moving forward with a third "Bad Boys," film, it would have to be spectacular. Panitch has not commented on plot details or negotiations. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are best known for their work on "Snowfall." Michael Bay was the original director for the two films, but Panitch said that he believes the new pair is the perfect fit moving forward.

Sony has been working on reintroducing popular franchises, some which are decades old. One of their first successes was the 2017 "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle."

The film starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart earned a massive $962 million gross. The release was 20 years after the original "Jumanji," film. However, Sony bombed with their attempted reboot of "Ghostbusters," with an all-female cast.
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