WOOSAH: Joe Pantoliano Will Return For BAD BOYS 3

For what feels like years, Sony has been promising a third Bad Boys movie. We'll hear that so-and-so's onboard to write or direct the film, or that stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have cleared their schedules to make it happen, and then - after months of radio silence - we'll again hear that a third Bad Boys is happening! And so-and-so's onboard to write or direct it! And Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have cleared their schedules to make it happen! And then the cycle begins anew. It's been a bit much.

But not so long ago, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence appeared in an Instagram video together, insisting that Bad Boys 3 (known in some nefarious circles as Bad Boys For Life) was a go, with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah onboard to direct a screenplay from Chris Bremner. This announcement certainly seemed legit, but even then we were suspicious. We'd been hurt before, and did not want to be hurt again. 

Well, as of today, we're done worrying: according to Deadline, Joe Pantoliano (known in other nefarious circles as Joey Pants) has officially signed on for Bad Boys 3, where he'll reprise his iconic role of the perpetually put-upon Captain Howard. Lord only knows how Capt. Howard managed to survive all these years with Detectives Burnett and Lowrey under his employ, what with their flagrant disregard for the rules and infamous habit for exploding literally everything they encounter, but we're glad he's still kicking around.

If all goes according to plan, Bad Boys 3 (okay, fine, Bad Boys For Life) will go in front of the cameras next month, with a planned release date of January 17th, 2020. We can't wait. Stay tuned for further updates as they roll in, gang.