There has been a lot more chatter recently about the long-gestating and occasionally vaporous third Bad Boys film. A couple of writers have come and gone since around 2009 and The Grey**’s Joe Carnahan was the last person talked about as someone who could get it made. It seems Sony is feeling bullish about either his idea or someone else’s, as the studio has announced a release date for not one new film in the franchise, but two.
With its results lagging behind some of the other studios at the moment, Sony could certainly use the return (or even reincarnation) of one of its big franchises, and **Bad Boys **has performed in the past. The big question will be whether the new movies can lure back franchise stalwarts Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, but clearly these films are something Sony is willing to plant flags for, setting **Bad Boys 3 **for February 17, 2017 (in the US at least) and the fourth on July 3, 2019.
It’s all part of a big dates announcement that sees other notable information such as Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven moving back into 2016 in the US, settling in September, Chris Pratt/Jennifer Lawrence sci-fi pic Passengers scheduled for December 21 the same year, and, in a sign it might actually get off the ground this time, Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower on January 13, 2017.
We’re happy to see that Edgar Wright’s latest, Baby Driver, is also now officially on the calendar, scoring a March 17, 2017 slot, with long-bubbling game adaptation Uncharted hopefully placed on June 30 the same year. For the full list, head to Deadline.