'Dhoom 3' on the way: Abhishek Bachchan

New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) Aficionados of the action-adventure 'Dhoom' franchise can fasten their seat belts as the much-awaited third instalment of the series is being scripted.

'Dhoom 3' is being scripted right now... I met Uday (Chopra) yesterday (for the same). It's a franchise and obviously after the success of 'Dhoom' and 'Dhoom 2', we want the next one to do better (hence the wait),' Abhishek said.

Abhishek was on live chat on http://raavan.zapak.com/ with over 40,000 fans for almost an hour, to promote his upcoming movie 'Raavan'.

He and Uday are tipped to reprise their roles in the slick cop and thief chase thriller produced by Yash Raj Films (YRF).

While John Abraham starred in the negative role in the first outing that released in 2004, the second one that came out in 2006 was a phenomenal success courtesy the presence of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Both instalments were directed by Sanjay Gadhvi.

The third outing is also expected to be helmed by Gadhvi and is reportedly slated for a 2012 release.

Right now Abhishek is aggressively promoting 'Raavan'. Directed by Mani Ratnam, the bilingual is releasing June 18. Co-produced by Reliance Big Pictures and Madras Talkies, the movie also stars Aishwarya Rai and Tamil superstar Vikram.