'Bad Boys 3' pushed back to 2018, receives new title

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's in development buddy cop action sequel Bad Boys 3 has been delayed until 2018 and given a new official title.

According to Variety, the third entry in the series will now be titled Bad Boys for Life and will arrive in theaters on Jan. 12, 2018.

The title is a reference to a line spoken by Smith's character Detective Mike Lowrey in 2003's Bad Boys 2 where he declared to Lawrence's Detective Marcus Burnett, "We ride together. We die together. Bad boys for life."

Originally, studio Sony Pictures had stated that the sequel would arrive on Feb. 17, 2017 with a fourth film set to release on July 3, 2019 however, there has been no update regarding a potential Bad Boys 4.

Bad Boys for Life will be directed by Joe Carnahan who is taking over for franchise director Michael Bay and will be produced by a returning Jerry Bruckheimer. No other casting details have been released.