We have been hearing rumblings that Bad Boys 3 was one the way for the better part of a decade now. Maybe director Michael Bay could squeeze it in when he was allowed out of Transformers jail. Maybe Will Smith would take a break from being the biggest movie star in the world to answer Martin Lawrence’s phone calls. Maybe, the news that Joe Carnahan was circling the latest entry in this nutty franchise would actually come to pass. After years of false starts, it looks like Sony is planning to bring this series back in a big way. They’ve not only set a release date for Bad Boys 3, they’ve set a release date for Bad Boys 4.

The news comes from The Wrap, who have a complete look at Sony’s newly announced film schedule. Bad Boys 3 is set for February 2, 2017. Bad Boys 4 will arrive on July 3, 2019 (which gives the city of Miami only two years to rebuild itself after whatever mayhem part three brings down upon it).

Bad Boys II has spent the past 12 years solidifying its reputation as one of the most divisive action movies ever made. Many critics and moviegoers decried the film’s unnerving lack of a moral compass, its grotesque and immature sense of humor sense of humor, and its wildly destructive, repugnant, bombastic action. But a lot of other people think those are the reasons Bad Boys II is awesome (the sequel’s mere existence has transformed the forgettable first entry into a genuine footnote in Smith and Bay’s career). Bad Boys 3 will have to go bigger than part two, which sounds kind-of, sort-of impossible.

Then again, Joe Carnahan has displayed a Bay-esque fondness for insane action and absurdity in the past. But Joe Carnahan also does what Joe Carnahan wants. He ditched Mission: Impossible III at the last possible moment a decade ago and is pretty outspoken when it comes to the whole “making the movie he wants to make” thing. The fact that we haven’t heard Carnahan’s name attached to these release dates makes us wonder if he’s still involved.

We’ll leave you with this question: since Sony is scheduling two movies in rapid succession, is it possible that the next two Bad Boys movies will tell one big story, Matrix/Pirates of the Caribbean/Justice League-style? If so, the enter eastern seaboard is toast.

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