It’s been 12 years since BAD BOYS II, one-and-a-half times the wait between the first two BAD BOYS, but it doesn’t look like Sony’s done with Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett just yet.
Action pro Joe Carnahan is in early talks to write and possibly direct a threequel that would have Smith and Lawrence back in the saddle. Carnahan was working on MOTORCADE for Dreamworks, but it’s possible that’ll have to be put on the backburner if Sony really wants to fasttrack this for Smith’s first post-SUICIDE SQUAD gig.
While the first two are as good examples as any of Michael Bay’s signatures and tastes, I couldn’t be happier if Carnahan ended up taking on the mantle. Between THE A-TEAM, SMOKIN’ ACES, and THE GREY, the guy has proven an adeptness at portraying mayhem an action with a clarity that far surpasses Bay’s (even if he isn’t as concerned with DESTROYING WHOLE CITIES). Plus, I thought that STRETCH had a great, sick sense of humor, which is an underappreciated, yet crucial element in the BAD BOYS franchise (“There’s a papa rat humpin’ the shit out of this mama rat!”).
When BAD BOYS II came out in ’03, I was worried about Will Smith jumping into the cussin’ and shootin’ game after years of kid-friendly tentpoles like MEN IN BLACK, and WILD WILD WEST. Today, I’m wondering if Martin’s still got that raunchy side in him. He’s not the guy whose SNL monologue got him banned from the show for life, who stood on stage miming masturbation in YOU SO CRAZY. He’s appeared in one R-rated film since the last BAD BOYS, and that was the forgettable remake of DEATH AT A FUNERAL, which wasn’t even particularly raunchy. He hasn’t popped up in anything since last year’s ill-fated sitcom PARTNERS, and my hope is that he’s still in touch with that anarchic side that made Marcus Burnett such an unhinged, comically frustrated character.
Still, Carnahan coming on board would be a huge injection of life into this long-discussed threequel, and if Smith and Lawrence are still game (and fit enough), then there’s no reason we shouldn’t get excited about another dip into excess with our two favorite members of the Miami P.D.
