For a while, it seemed like Bad Boys III (a/k/a Bad Boys For Life) was dead in the water. Michael Bay was out. Joe Carnahan came and went. Will Smith got busy making terrible Netflix movies. Nobody could find Martin Lawrence. Shit was crazy.
But you know who wasn't done pursuing Bad Boys For Life? Jerry Bruckheimer, who's returning to the producer's chair and bringing the filmmaking duo of Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah with him to helm the follow-up to what is arguably the craziest American action movie ever made.
Who are Arbi and Fallah you ask? Excellent question. The Moroccan-born team are responsible for Black, a Romeo & Juliet-type drama set in the world of organized crime in Belgium (haven't seen, so can't comment*). They also stepped behind the camera for a few episodes of Snowfall, John Singleton's FX series about the rise of crack cocaine during the '80s**.
Arbi & Fallah are qucikly becoming a hot item in Hollywood, as they're attached not only to Bad Boys For Life, but also Beverly Hills Cop IV and a big screen adaptation of Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera's Native American crime graphic novel, Scalped. So, expect to possibly be hearing a whole lot from them, should Bad Boys For Life turn out to be a hit.
Both Smith and Lawrence are coming back to the lead roles, with an August production start being eyed (giving Big Willy a break from Bright sequels), and the most recent draft of the script penned by Chris Bremmer. No release date has been announced as of yet. To be honest, I'll never say I won't watch a Bad Boys III (because then I'd just be lying), but a Bad Boys movie without Bay's unique brand of crazy behind it just seems like baking a birthday cake and forgetting the icing. You need that extra thing you know is just not good for you (but will happily gobble it up anyway).
*Strange thing about Arbi & Fallah: their debut was never actually picked up for American distribution, meaning some smart agent over at CAA snatched them up quick, probably on a festival recommendation.
**Stranger yet: I haven't watched Snowfall, which is disappointing on a personal level. A John Singleton produced series about the crack epidemic in LA circa '83 feels distinctly like "a thing Jacob Knight would like". I have failed you all.