Bad Boys 3 Could Be in the Works

Columbia Pictures is working on a third installment of the "Bad Boys" franchise, taking the first step by hiring a writer for the screenplay, Reuters reports.

Columbia hopes that Peter Craig's script for the third film will reunite director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Brukheimer and stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. None has a deal to return at this point in time.

In the "Bad Boys" series, Smith and Lawrence play Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, who get involved in cases that feature car chases and explosions.

The first film was released in 1995 and helped launch Bay as a director and cement Smith's role as an action star. It was not, however, a huge box office success, grossing $66 million domestically and $141 million worldwide. The sequel, released in 2003, grossed $138 million domestically and $273 million worldwide.

Bay, Brukheimer, Smith and Lawrence have expressed a willingness to return if a story can be written, but a potential hiccup could be the costliness of deals with involved parties.