It looks like a Bad Boys 3 movie is closer to being a reality with news this evening that screenwriter David Guggenheim (Safe House) is in talks to write the script for the threequel.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are expected to return (at least Sony Pictures wants them to, and, let’s face it, it just wouldn’t be the same film without them), although director Michael Bay, who directed the first two films in the franchise, isn’t as certain. Although he did say during a press junket interview while promoting the last Transformers movie that he wanted to do it and was, at the time, talking to the actors about it.

Jerry Bruckheimer will return to produce with Sony Pictures backing the project.

This might get expensive for Sony with all these big salaries to pay and may not even be worth it, unless they expect it to do really big numbers at the box office.

You’ll remember that one of the reasons Will Smith likely won’t be in the Independence Day sequels is because of his asking salary, which the studio wasn’t high on paying.

But last we wrote about the possibility of a Bad Boys 3, last year, Will Smith had this to say:

I love making those movies… It’s Miami, the tight T-shirt and fast cars, but just at this point in my career the material has to be right. Just because it’s a popcorn movie doesn’t mean that you don’t have something to say. Then, to me, that’s hugely important. I’m forty three and I’ve got probably… I’m looking at maybe seven more years where I can run and jump a little bit and then I’m going butt and gut for the rest of my career. Butt and gut. 

Trying to read between the lines there one can say that he didn’t seem at the time like he really wanted to do it. At least that’s what he said a year ago.

I should also note that British actors/writers/producers Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters have been developing a UK version of Bad Boys.