Will Smith has confirmed a fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise, over a year after he notoriously smacked Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.
The altercation between the two in March raised doubts about Smith’s future as a box office draw.
It threw doubt on the status of Bad Boys 4, which Sony had previously said was in production.
However, it will now proceed and follows Smith’s recent appearance in the lead role in Apple’s Emancipation.
Although that film had a limited theatrical release and was missed at this year’s Academy Awards, the low public outcry to its release may have persuaded other studios that Smith’s image can be rehabilitated gradually.
‘The time has come’
Smith revealed the fourth Bad Boys film in an Instagram video in which he reunited with Lawrence and delivered their slogan “bad boys for life.”
“Yo, I’ve got an announcement, y’all best stop scrolling,” Smith says in the video as he heads to Lawrence’s house.
Nelly, P Diddy, and Murphy Lee’s Shake Ya Tailfeather opens Bad Boys II’s soundtrack.
The duo arrives at Lawrence’s door and announces that the fourth film is officially under production. “The time has come!” Lawrence yells.
The two are shown joking that they should have saved the Bad Boys For Life title as a pun for the fourth picture, rather than using it for the third film.
The untitled sequel will be directed by the same team responsible for the abandoned Batgirl film.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have already directed one film in the franchise, Bad Boys For Life, which will be released in 2020.
This film was one of the last big blockbusters before the Covid epidemic, grossing $426 million (£346 million).
Last summer, Lawrence dismissed the possibility that the next installment may be canceled. “We have at least one more,” he told Ebony.
Regarding the franchise as a whole, he stated: “It was large. That two Black stars, two sitcom stars, were able to generate money at the box office was a monumental achievement.”
1995’s Bad Boys grossed $141 million (£114 million) worldwide, while 2003’s Bad Boys II earned $273 million (£222 million).
Bad Boys For Life performed better at the box office than the previous two installments combined. But a portion of this can be ascribed to the 17-year increase in ticket prices.
