I’ve always said, for as long as a “Bad Boys 3” movie has been rumored to be in the works (which has been many years), that by the time it eventually goes into production, both actors will be over 60 years old! Well, maybe not after all, as Sony Pictures has put an official release date on the threequel, for next year actually – June 2, 2017 – and has confirmed a director for it as well, Joe Carnahan (last year, word on the street was that Carnahan was “in early talks” to both re-write the script for the movie as well as direct).

So I suppose we can now say that it’s official, barring any unforeseen events, of course. “Bad Boys 3” is a go. I assume it’ll be filmed later this year. One of its stars – Will Smith – was filming what will be his next film, “Collateral beauty” for New Line Cinema, which is set for release during awards season later this year. He’ll likely follow that up almost immediately with filming on “Bad Boys 3” – assuming nothing’s changed since the last update on the project in March.

But I bring it up again today as a reminder, and the fact that the last film, “Bad Boys 2” (“Bad Boys II”) celebrates its 13th birthday today – it was released on Jul 18, 2003. Also worth noting is that, coincidentally (or maybe not), “Bad Boys II” became available for streaming on Netflix this month, so feel free to revisit it, or watch it for the first time if you haven’t. I actually plan to stream it via Netflix later today.

Martin Lawrence is of course returning as well to co-star in the 3rd film, although no other casting has been announced at this time. We should know more in the coming months (including plot), if Sony remains on track.

A project that’s been in the works since 2009, it previously wasn’t clear whether Lawrence was interested in returning (Will Smith and Bruckheimer both had shared interest, while Lawrence had been noticeably quiet about it), but Lawrence finally said he was up for it, during an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late-night show over a year ago.

Screenwriter David Guggenheim (“Safe House”) was penning the script for the film, which Joe Carnahan reportedly rewrote (or is maybe still rewriting). This obviously means that Michael Bay, who directed the first two films in the franchise, will not be back to direct the third film.

I’d expect “Bad Boys 3” will be even bigger and *badder* than the last 2, which means that it might get expensive for Sony Pictures, with likely heftier salaries to pay (Smith and Lawrence will probably demand more money than they received many years ago for the first 2), and it’s a question of whether it may even be worth it for the studio; unless they expect it to do really big numbers at the box office. And I don’t know if that’s a guarantee, quite frankly. I’m sure it’ll do well, but are Will Smith and Martin Lawrence still the box office draws they both once were, just a few years ago, especially after a handful of underwhelming returns for Smith movies in recent years, and a failed TV series which Lawrence headlined with Kelsey Grammer last year? But maybe this is exactly the kind of movie that fans want to see both actors in, and “Bad Boys 3” will serve as a sort of return to form for them.

The first film, released in 1995, was cheap at $19 million. Will Smith certainly wasn’t collecting the kind of salary he would go on to command years later; and likely neither was Lawrence. It was a sleeper hit, earning over $140 million worldwide. The budget for the second film, released 8 years later, in 2003, ballooned six-fold to a whopping $130 million! That film grossed about $238 million globally. Not quite the profitable film that the first one was, but still a hit.

What would the budget for a third film be, and what kind of box office can be expected? Sony might opt to go leaner on this one though, with a budget somewhere between $19 million and $130 million, with an expected box office take of somewhere between $140 million and $238 million globally. I wouldn’t expect superhero movie or “Fast & Furious”-like numbers.

In essence, your guess is as good as mine.

Four years ago, when asked about the possibility of a 3rd film, here’s what Will Smith had 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, not unless he really digs the script, which might be why Sony has ordered at least a couple of rewrites since talk of a 3rd film went public. But you know what they say about scripts that have been *touched* by numerous writers…

But feel free to celebrate the franchise, and the 13th birthday of “Bad Boys II” by watching it on Netflix today. I might tweet about it as I watch.