'Bad Boys 3' will be released within ''12 to 16 months''.

Will Smith - who starred as Miami detective Mike Lowrey alongside Martin Lawrence's cop character Marcus Burnett in the action comedy franchise's original movie in 1995 and its 2003 sequel - has revealed that the third film in the series is coming soon.

In an interview on Beats 1, he said: ''There is a very, very, very strong possibility that you will be seeing a 'Bad Boys' within the next 12 to 16 months.''

However, he did not give any other details on the movie, leaving his exact involvement still unclear.

It was previously claimed that Will Smith won't star third movie, or its planned follow up.

However, it has been claimed that the 'Fresh Prince of Be Air' star will be involved in a producer capacity and has signed up to assist on the recently confirmed fourth film in the series.

Last year, Martin revealed that the script was well under way and even tagged Will in a post on Twitter regarding production.

When asked about the next movie, he said: '' I just talked to Jerry Bruckheimer (producer. He said it's real, they're working on the script, they're getting close - and it all looks good.''