Could Joe Carnahan Direct Bad Boys 3?

Columbia Pictures

The headline isn’t meant to be one of those intentionally ambiguous titles for the sake of uncertainty and speculation. I’m not asking a question of will he. I’m asking if it could actually be possible for Joe Carnahan (The A-Team) to directed a Bad Boys sequel. According to The Wrap, he is in talks to write one (or rewrite the one first scripted by David Guggenheim). It’s also said that these talks could lead to him directing his own Bad Boys 3 script. But what I’m wondering is how on Earth it can be a Bad Boys movie without Michael Bay at the helm.

When we say that Bay is a blockbuster auteur, we aren’t kidding. But it’s actually more than that. There’s a reason that nobody has so far directed a  sequel to a Michael Bay movie. It would be like having a Chic-fil-A franchise sell burgers and no chicken sandwiches (or biscuits or any other chicken-based menu item). Maybe somebody could make a different kind of Transformers movie, and that will happen very soon. Bad Boys, though, isn’t even really a property. It’s just scenes directed by Michael Bay that prominently feature Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Maybe Smith and Lawrence won’t be back, so then it’s really not Bad Boys. The actors are being sought, and while I’m sure Lawrence has no reason to decline the offer, Smith wouldn’t even do Independence Day 2, which probably would have paid better and been more fun. Maybe Carnahan can wrangle Joe Pantoliano to return as the Miami Police captain. And maybe it should just be his old script set in Miami and titled Miami, which was described as “Chinatown in South Beach.”

The closest person capable of making sequel to a Michael Bay reel in the form of an action movie is probably Peter Berg, one of the ensemble players in Carnahan’s Smokin’ Aces. He’d at least bring in enough flag waving, and he’s previously worked with Smith (on Hancock) and Miami (on the new HBO series Ballers) and could probably bring Dwayne Johnson into the fold for some franchise Viagra.

"Could Joe Carnahan Direct Bad Boys 3?" was originally published on Film School Rejects for our wonderful readers to enjoy. It is not intended to be reproduced on other websites. If you aren't reading this in your favorite RSS reader or on Film School Rejects, you're being bamboozled. We hope you'll come find us and enjoy the best articles about movies, television and culture right from the source.

Related Posts:

• Jeff Nichols is Still Living in an ‘Alien Nation’News that Jeff Nichols would remake the James Caan/Mandy Patinkin buddy-cop sci-fi mashup Alien Nation first dropped more than two years ago. While most are happy to dismiss remakes as lazy Hollywood storytelling, recent… Read More
• John Krasinski Explains Why ‘A Quiet Place 2’ Won’t Be Like Most SequelsIt’s opening night of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and millions across the country are unaware that Twitter is about to have an absolute meltdown. But what they are also unaware of is a preview for a new horror film tha… Read More
• Joe Dante’s ‘Explorers’ to Become a TV Series From Cary Fukunaga and David LoweryThere is nothing quite like the excitement of seeing your favorite filmmakers daring to spread themselves too thin. Both Cary Fukunaga and David Lowery are burning the candle at both ends. Fukunaga just completed a triumphant… Read More
• What’s New to Stream on Hulu for November 2018Hulu has been stuck in the third place position when it comes to movie streaming behind Netflix and Amazon Prime because most people still see them strictly as a home for next-day television. They have movies too, though, and… Read More
• ‘Pete’s Dragon’ Director David Lowery Takes On an Arthurian LegendDavid Lowery is a filmmaker who seems to have the best of both the arthouse and mainstream movie worlds. Although he doesn’t have very many features in his filmography, the director has cut his teeth on poignant and memorable… Read More