Kevin Hart‘s resume in the action comedy scene is perhaps one of the most robust in the business. From the highs of Central Intelligence and the Jumanji movies to his team-up with Patrick Hughes on The Man From Toronto, and the lows of the Borderlands video game adaptation, high-octane laughter has been his wheelhouse for a while now. Among his most successful forays in the field was easily the buddy cop franchise,Ride Along, pairing him with Ice Cube as a security guard looking to prove himself to his soon-to-be brother-in-law, who’s a veteran police officer. Despite failing to win critics over, the 2014 original film and its sequel thrived with audiences, as the duo’s chemistry carried them to box office hauls of $155 million and $125 million, respectively.
The success of the films unsurprisingly spurred the announcement of a third installment, which director Tim Story announced not long after the release of Ride Along 2 in 2016. Cut to one decade later, however, and it’s been all crickets since early development began. That hasn’t been for a lack of trying. All parties involved have wanted to get a Ride Along 3 off the ground at Universal, but for one reason or another, there’s been no momentum towards bringing the mismatched duo of Ben Barber and James Payton back together as they’ve struggled to come together on an idea. Thanks to a recent development, though, there’s renewed hope that the franchise may return for more.
Ride Along 3 is officially back in early development at Universal following the hiring of a new writer, Daniel Gold, to pen the script. Gold is best known for his work on the Netflix/CBC comedy Workin’ Moms, but this will be his first feature effort. While he didn’t bring the longest resume to the table, his pitch got all four of Hart, Cube, Story, and producer Will Packer excited for another ride. They’re all currently in early talks to return.
What Happened in the First Two ‘Ride Along’ Films?
The original Ride Along followed Ben’s attempts to show James that he was worthy of marrying his sister by joining the police academy. Hoping to scare him away, James agrees to take him on a ride-along, promising he’ll give him his blessing and recommendation if he survives the shift. What starts as a day full of annoying disturbances specifically contrived to make newbies like Ben as miserable as possible turns into a deadly confrontation with Atlanta’s most notorious criminal. Once he becomes a rookie lawman, Ride Along 2 reunites the duo on a trip to Miami to investigate a lead related to a drug ring. They ultimately are left to prove that a powerful, charismatic executive, played by Benjamin Bratt, is actually the kingpin behind South Florida’s drug trade. Details of their next shift together are under wraps, with Cube producing under his Cube Vision banner, Hart under his Hartbeat Productions, and Story via his The Story Company.
via Collider