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LOS ANGELES — Reggaeton sensation Nicky Jam is set to join the cast of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's upcoming "Bad Boys" sequel, "Bad Boys for Life."

Jam, who will play one of the villains in the Sony pic, joins series newcomers Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Jacob Scipio, DJ Khaled, and Paola Nunez. Joe Pantoliano will return as Captain Howard. Production is currently underway.

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Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah will direct the new installment from a script by Peter Craig ("The Hunger Games: Mockingjay," "Transformers"), with Joe Carnahan also doing a rewrite. Chris Bremmer is the current writer.

Jerry Bruckheimer is back as producer. Doug Belgrad will also produce, along with Smith. Barry Waldman, Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, and James Lassiter are the executive producers.

The story revolves around a modern, highly specialized police unit that collides with the old-school Bad Boys (Smith and Lawrence) when a new threat emerges in Miami. "Bad Boys for Life" hits theaters on Jan. 17, 2020.

While he still had to audition for the role, Jam already had a solid relationship with Smith; the two teamed up for the FIFA World Cup song "Live It Up," which went on to become a massive hit last year.

Jam executive produced and starred in the Netflix series "El Ganador." He is repped by WME and Juan Diego Medina of Industria Entertainment.

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