It was recently revealed that The Grey and Smokin’ Aces director Joe Carnahan will be making a re-imagining of the hit Indonesian action flick The Raid with Frank Grillo starring. This in addition to working on the screenplays for both X-Force and the Uncharted video game movie.

All of these projects led many to wonder when Carnahan would get to Bad Boys 3, also known as Bad Boys for Life, which he has been attached to since June of 2015. We now have an answer to this question. Carnahan has walked away from the long in development trilogy-maker, leaving Sony to find a new director.

The reason for Carnahan’s departure is unclear. It’s said that the obvious conflict in his very busy schedule is the reason, while there are sources who say it’s actually due to creative differences. If the latter is at all true, it would be a bit odd considering how long he’s been working on the movie.

The news comes at the worst time. Star Will Smith was also in talks for Tim Burton’s live-action adaptation of Dumbo for Disney, which is scheduled to film around the same time as Bad Boys for Life. Smith recently decided not to sign on for Dumbo, however, leaving his schedule open for the new Bad Boys. A November 8, 2018 release date had also recently been set.

Now the status of the project is up in the air. Carnahan also penned the most recent draft of the script, and reports indicate that, along with finding a new director, a new writer could also possibly be hired.

It’s not clear if there’s any chance that Michael Bay could return for the third movie with this summer’s Transformers: The Last Knight looking like his final project in that franchise, or if he’ll move on to something new. Bay directed both 1995’s Bad Boys and 2003’s Bad Boys II.

[Source: Heat Vision]

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