The “Bad Boys” are officially returning, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence announcing that they’ll reunite for a fourth film in the franchise. Sony Pictures confirmed that the untitled sequel is in early pre-production with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Ms. Marvel,” “Rebel”) returning to direct from a script by Chris Bremner. The filmmakers, who also helmed Warner Bros.’ scrapped “Batgirl” movie, directed 2020’s “Bad Boys for Life,” which reunited Smith and Lawrence as Miami-Dade detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, 25 years after the first “Bad Boys” film was released. Shortly after the threequel hit theaters, Sony announced that a fourth “Bad Boys” film was in development, and “Bad Boys for Life” went on to earn $426.5 million at the worldwide box office as one of the last pre-pandemic era blockbusters.
On Tuesday morning, Smith and Lawrence announced that the upcoming movie was officially charging ahead by releasing a reunion video on social media with the caption, “IT’S ABOUT THAT TIME!” The video follows Smith as he drives to Lawrence’s home (camera in tow), saying, “Yo, I’ve got an announcement. Y’all better stop scrolling.” As a little hint, Smith plays the opening bars of “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee’s song from the 2003 “Bad Boys II” soundtrack. “I wish I was you, not knowing what I’m about to show me.”
Arriving at Lawrence’s door, the duo declare that the fourth film is officially on the way. “It’s about that time!” Lawrence yells.
“Bad boys for life baby,” Smith chimes in, calling out the duo’s catchphrase and reinforcing the “For life,” as they comically acknowledge that the third film’s title effectively wasted the pun they could’ve used for the upcoming fourth movie. “We shouldn’t have called it that though,” Smith quips. As such, the yet-to-be-titled sequel is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Smith for Westbrook, Doug Belgrad and Chad Oman; with Lawrence, James Lassiter, Mike Stenson, Barry Waldman and Jon Mone serving as executive producers.
In July, Lawrence gave an update on the project in an interview for the cover of Ebony magazine, confirming that the movie was still in development after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, which had caused some to speculate about its fate. “We got one more at least,” Lawrence stated, implying the action franchise could extend beyond the next installment. “It was big,” Lawrence said of launching “Bad Boys” with Smith in 1995. “For us to come together and prove that we can deliver, and we can pull people into the box office — that two Black stars, two sitcom stars, could make money at the box office [was huge].” The original “Bad Boys” earned $141 million worldwide, while the 2003 sequel “Bad Boys II” totaled $273 million and “Bad Boys for Life” managed to outgross the previous two entries combined.
Smith is repped by CAA. Lawrence is repped by UTA. El Arbi & Fallah are represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, Ken Lambrechts Artist Management, and Jackoway Austen. Waldman is repped by CAA.
