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'Bad Boys 3' news, release date: "Bad Boys For Life" drops January 2018

Promotional image for the "Bad Boys" film franchise | Facebook/BadBoysMovie

The upcoming third installment in the "Bad Boys" film franchise finally has a title.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Sony has given the third film the title "Bad Boys For Life." The upcoming installment, which will continue the story of narcotic Miami detectives Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith), also has a new release date: Jan. 12, 2018.

EW notes that the new title comes from a line from "Bad Boys II" (2003). In that film, Smith tells Lawrence: "We ride together, we die together. Bad boys for life."

Both actors are expected to reprise their roles as Mike and Marcus in the upcoming buddy-cop action comedy.

"Bad Boys," the first film in the franchise, was directed by Michael Bay and released in 1995. It was followed by "Bad Boys II," which was also helmed by Bay, eight layers later.

Bay will not be directing "Bad Boys For Life"; instead, "The A-Team" director Joe Carnahan is attached to helm the film, Variety has learned. The outlet also notes that production on the third "Bad Boys" film will begin in the first quarter of 2017.

"Bad Boys For Life" has been given three different release dates over the past year. It was originally slated for a Feb. 17, 2017 release before being moved back to June 2, 2017. Its latest reported release date puts it in the same winter window as "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" and "Sherlock Gnomes."

Jerry Bruckheimer will produce the third "Bad Boys" installment, as he did the first two. No plot details have been revealed.

According to EW, though the release date for "Bad Boys For Life" has been moved back, it does not affect the release date for "Bad Boys 4." The fourth film in the franchise is currently scheduled to hit theaters July 3, 2019.