Will Smith Announces ‘Bad Boys for Life’ First Day of Shooting

The long-awaited Bad Boys II sequel has been making some major progress in recent weeks and now thanks to star Will Smith we know when shooting on Bad Boys for Life is set to begin.

Smith took to Instagram on Sunday to share a photo of himself with co-star Martin Lawrence. In the photo’s caption, Smith noted that the pair had watched Bad Boys and Bad Boys II together over the weekend in preparation for Monday — which is when shooting on the eagerly-anticipated threequel begins.

After years of speculation — it’s been over 15 years since Bad Boys II was released — it was confirmed last year that the third installment of the franchise was finally coming to fruition with both original stars signed on. Since then, we’ve been getting quite a bit of information on the film. First, the title — which is stylized as Bad Boys for Lif3 — was revealed and then casting information started to emerge. In addition to the return of Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix, Sense8) as Captain Howard, several new actors are also joining the cast. Vanessa Hudgens (Spring Breakers, The Princess Switch), Alexander Ludwig (Vikings, The Hunger Games), Charles Melton (Riverdale, American Horror Story), Jacob Scipio (Hunter Killer, We Die Young), and Paola Núñez (The Son, Amor en custodia) are all newcomers to the franchise.

Other than casting, and now the shooting start date, not too much else is known about Bad Boys for Life. Production Weekly recently offered a synopsis for the film, indicating that “the new installment centers on the Miami PD and its elite AMMO team’s attempt to take down Armando Armas (Jacob Scipio), head of a drug cartel. Armando is a cold-blooded killer with a vicious, taunting nature. He is committed to the work of the cartel and is dispatched by his mother to kill Mike (Will Smith).”

Bad Boys for Life will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, based on a script by Peter Craig which was rewritten by Joe Carnahan. Chris Bremmer is the current writer on the project. Producing Bad Boys for Life is Jerry Bruckheimer, Doug Belgrad, and Will Smith, while Barry Waldman, Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, and James Lassiter will serve as executive producers.

Are you excited that Bad Boys for Life is finally entering production? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Bad Boys for Life is scheduled to open in theaters on January 17, 2020.