Will Smith’s Oscar’s smack, according to Martin Lawrence, won’t stop production on Bad Boys 4: “We have at least one more,”
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith were sincere when they committed to participating in Bad Boys for Life. Lawrence also confirms that the detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey will ride once again, despite the fact that Smith is currently a movie star non grata.
In a recent interview with Ebony, Lawrence dismissed the idea that their action-packed buddy-cop series may cease as a result of Smith’s infamous slap on Chris Rock at the Oscars this year.
Lawrence remarked, “We got one more at least.”
When Smith and Lawrence’s sitcom roles—Smith for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Lawrence for Martin, which had just had its 30-year reunion special—were more well-known, the original Bad Boys, directed by Michael Bay, debuted in 1995.
The movie made $141 million worldwide, helped establish Will Smith as a legitimate action star, and started a lucrative franchise, which has since grossed $840 million worldwide with the release of Bad Boys II in 2003 and Bad Boys for Life in 2020.
The first Bad Boys, according to Lawrence, “it was massive.” “It was huge for us to come together and demonstrate that we can deliver and draw audiences to the box office.” Two Black sitcom stars were able to make money at the box office.
Not only was it significant for the culture, but also for Lawrence personally and professionally. I felt like TV was my college years because I didn’t attend college, he remarked. “I felt like I had graduated with movies; it was just different.”
With that background, it should come as no surprise that Lawrence, who has dealt with his fair share of controversy, would want to produce another Bad Boys film.
However, it has been alleged that a number of the Oscar winner’s film projects have been put on hold as a result of Smith’s much-heralded slap, which came in response to a joke Rock made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, on stage. One of those projects is Bad Boys 4.
Regarding Lawrence’s comments and the status of a fourth Bad Boys movie, EW has contacted Sony Pictures for a response.
But if Lawrence has his way, he won’t be handing in his pistol and badge anytime soon. I believe we have something great, and I want that to continue, he said to Entertainment Weekly back in 2020.
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