Joe Carnahan Says ‘Bad Boys For Life’ Will Be “The Strongest Of The Trilogy Thus Far”

Generally speaking, sequels tend to offer diminishing returns, though there are the very few and far between franchises that have gotten even better by the third film: For every “Toy Story 3,” there are a handful of “The Godfather Part III“-style disappointments. However, director Joe Carnahan points to that Pixar movie as an example of what he’s trying to do with “Bad Boys For Life,” the third installment of the “Bad Boys” action comedy series; he’s aiming to make the best movie the franchise has seen yet.

Originally scheduled to be released next year, the film has been pushed back to 2018 due to scheduling concerns, and the writer/director is using that time to make sure “Bad Boys For Life” will be the best it can possibly be.

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“[It’s] the strongest script of any of those movies. Hands down. In a walk over,” Carnahan told io9. “Unless [you’ve made] ‘Toy Story 3,’ usually third ones aren’t the strongest, and I think this one will be the strongest of the trilogy thus far.”

Bold words, but part of the director’s recipe for success will involve not feeling like he’s beholden to what the previous two films have done or taking part in any kind of overt fan service.

“There are obviously little things you want to tip your hat to, but I think the danger is [indulging in] this slavish ‘We have to check all these boxes’ [tendency],” Carnahan explained. “There are these legions of people demanding your head because you didn’t bring back John Salley or you didn’t bring back Joe Pantoliano. I think you have to be careful with that. I’m always interested in ‘I know what has been done. What hasn’t been done?’ If not, it’s just regurgitating old tropes and ideas and that’s not fun for anybody.”

And then there’s the issue that the series has been out of the public eye for a decade and a half, and the director realizes there will be lot of expectation because of that.

“When you’re coming back after 15 years, you better come back with a home run ball,” Carnahan said. “And I really believe that’s what we have….We’ve got a responsibility to make something that’s absolutely equivalent or exceeds what comes before. That’s a really important thing for all of us.”

So, the bar has been set quite high, and we’ll see if Carnahan, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence can clear it when “Bad Boys For Life” arrives on January 12, 2018.