Dennis Hopper To Star In Speed 3?

Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?

The Guardian has revealed that 20th Century Fox has plans to make a third Speed movie, which will feature returning star Dennis Hopper. Here is what the article says:

"He certainly isn't in the mood to discuss any of the half a dozen films he is due to appear in this year, a roster which is due to include a performance in Speed 3, even though I have plenty of questions about that. Surely his character Howard Payne died in a decapitation incident in the last reel of Speed 1? "It's a river of shit," he tells me pleasantly but firmly, "from which I have tried to extract some gold."

So there you have it. No word on if Speed helmer Jan de Bont will return for the third film. Bont is in preproduction on Meg, a monster flick which involves the Carcharodon Megalodon, the 70 foot, 40 ton prehistoric cousin of the great white shark. The movie has supposedly been on hold because New Line were busy working on Rush Hour 3. But now with Ratner's film set to hit theaters, I would think that Bont would be contractually obligated to go into production on Meg. Also no word on if Speed series stars Keanu Reeves and/or Sandra Bullock will also return. Let's just hope for no Boats this time around.

My big concern is the obvious one which has already been asked: How will they bring Dennis Hopper's character Howard Payne back from the dead? Could Speed 3 be a prequel or spin-off? One thing is for sure, Hopper isn't talking.