It’s official: Bad Boys 3 is happening. Martin Lawrence all but confirmed the movie when he sat down with Conan O’ Brien to promote his new television show, Partners.

Martin Lawrence Will Smith Bad Boys 3Martin Lawrence [L] and Will Smith [R] promoting 'Bad Boys 2' [Getty/Kevin Winter]

When asked by O’Brien about the film’s existence and whether it would actually happen, Lawrence replied: “I believe so. Yes. I just talked to Jerry Bruckheimer yesterday and he said its real, they’re working on the script, they’re getting close and it all looks good,” according to Slash Film. 

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And it’s not like Lawrence hasn’t been pushing for this to happen. "11 years ago today, Bad Boys II was released in theaters. Feelin’ it’s about time for number 3… what do you think Will Smith?” he wrote on Facebook in July. 

But of course, when dealing with a global star like Smith, timing is always key. And according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Bay Boys 3 has been so long in the making for exactly that reason. “It’s so funny because we’ll get Sony real excited to make the movie, and then Will [Smith] is off doing two movies. And then, Will will come back and be real excited about it, and Sony will say, ‘Well, maybe it’s not the time for this,” he explained in April. 

“And then, Ride Along came out and was a big hit, and now they’re all excited to make the movie, but Will is off doing something else. It’s just trying to get everybody together to make it. But, we’re working on the script. We have a lot of faith and hope that we’ll do it,” he added. 

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Having grossed over $400m from the worldwide box office, the demand is clearly there for a third film. But with Kevin Hart, Will Smith and Michael Bay’s increased costs, Sony will have to shell out the big bucks if they want to reap them back. What’s that saying: speculate to?