Producer Jerry Bruckheimer still has hope that Bad Boys 3 will eventually happen - and says a new writer is already working on a script. Will Smith has been an A-list box office draw for so many years now that it can sometimes be hard to remember that wasn't always the case. Once upon a time, Smith was still best known as a rapper and sitcom star. That was until 1995's Bad Boys, an action/comedy that saw Smith team up with Martin Lawrence to play Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, respectively. Bad Boys was a huge hit, earning over $140 million at the box office on a budget of $19 million. The two reunited in 2003 for sequel Bad Boys II, which also performed pretty well, earning $273 million on a budget of $130 million.

Rumors of a possible Bad Boys 3 floated around for quite awhile afterward, but it wasn't until 2015 that Sony officially announced that the sequel was officially coming, along with a Bad Boys 4. Joe Carnahan was attached to both write and direct Bad Boys 3, but unfortunately, progress on the project kept hitting road blocks. The film's planned 2017 release date ended up getting repeatedly delayed, and a frustrated Carnahan finally left earlier this year. Recently, star Lawrence even said he doesn't think the sequel will happen.

One person who's not ready to give up on Bad Boys 3 is franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Talking with Yahoo, he said he thinks it will happen eventually and revealed a new script may already be in the works:

"Well, we've been developing it for I don't know how many years now and we had a period of time where it got pretty close and then it drifted away a little bit and hopefully it will drift back again. We have a new writer on it who's working on it right now, so that gives me encouragement."

It's unclear who this new writer is that Bruckheimer mentions, as no new creative has been announced for Bad Boys 3 since Carnahan exited. It's also unknown if the sequel is still going to be called Bad Boys for Life, as there's been no mention of whether or not that name would survive Carnahan's departure and Sony's subsequent decision to remove the film from its release schedule.

With both Carnahan and Lawrence having previously referred to Smith's busy schedule as a major reason for the lack of progress on Bad Boys 3, one wonders if Bruckheimer and company might eventually decide to continue with the franchise without its original star, or perhaps with him taking a reduced role. That said, without the fun of Smith and Lawrence once again sharing the screen, audiences are unlikely to be very excited for a new Bad Boys installment.

Next: How Men in Black Director Lied to Get Will Smith Cast

Source: Yahoo