Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has moved forward work on a third Bad Boys movie. Deadline reports that he is currently considering David Guggenheim (Safe House) to write the screenplay. At this time there is no word if stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence or director Michael Bay will return.

The first two Bad Boys films followed foul-mouthed Miami cops Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence). Part 1 (1995) was a fairly standard buddy cop action-comedy. 2003’s Part 2 (as in Bad Boys II, one of the movies Nick Frost’s character in Hot Fuzz got all excited about) escalated until the entire Miami Police Department pretty much declared war on Cuba just to bring in one drug smuggler and save Lowrey’s girlfriend. If that last sentence got your attention then you should follow the news for Bad Boys III closely.

Smith could use another hit blockbuster after the disappointing returns from After Earth. Lawrence could use one as well, since he has not appeared in a movie since Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011). Bay is currently working on Transformers 4, though his most recent hit Pain & Gain suggests that he is still interested in making Miami action-comedies. Much of the appeal of Bad Boys 1 and 2 came from Smith and Lawrence’s on-screen chemistry and Bay’s fondness for explosions and fancy cars. A three-quel that fails to reunite the group would have many hurdles to overcome.

Presumably any work Bruckheimer does on the Bad Boys sequel will not conflict with his just-announced first look deal at Paramount because it is not a new property. Sony/Columbia Pictures produced Bad Boys and Bad Boys II, and will also oversee this project.