Bad Boys apparently really are for life as it seems that this action-packed franchise isn’t ending anytime soon with Sony Pictures’ Bad Boys 4 set to reach theatres in just a couple months. This series, centered on detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett of the Miami Police Department, has already produced three blockbuster films that have grossed over $840 million as well as a spinoff television show, L.A.’s Finest, making it one of the most successful buddy-cop action-comedy series in history. The most recent film, Bad Boys for Life, was one of the last movies to hit theaters before the pandemic shut them all down and was able to be a critical and box office success – so why would the franchise stop now? Will Smith and Martin Lawrence (Lowery and Burnett) are back for the fourth film, and this is music to the ears of fans of the series since Bad Boys for Life left several loose ends and potential plot-lines for the detectives to follow and adding another movie to the franchise is the perfect way to address them. So, all of that said, let’s take a further look into everything we know about Bad Boys 4.

Plot

In the first Bad Boys, the detectives’ biggest career bust of confiscated heroin was stolen from a police vault by a drug kingpin. The second film involved the Russian Mafia and a Haitian gang. The third film started with a cartel kingpin’s widow escaping from prison and sending her son out to kill a list of people, including Mike. So far, nobody besides the people working on the movie know the plot of the fourth film. That said, based off of the information and loose ends that occurred at the end of Bad Boys for Life we can make a couple of educated guesses.

The plot that makes the most sense for a sequel would most likely see Mike and Marcus working on a new case with AMMO with a side-plot of Mike mending/working on his relationship with his son. Fans will remember that the last movie ended with Mike and Marcus being put in charge of AMMO with Mike visiting his son, Armando, in prison and offering him a chance at redemption, so this plot would follow up on those loose ends. Again, this is all speculation, but it would be odd for the previous movie to give such heavy leads and them completely dismiss them.

Cast

As mentioned, stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are returning as detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, with Eric Dane (known for Euphoria and Grey’s Anatomy) playing the movie’s villain. Actor Ioan Gruffudd (known for Fantastic 4) has also been cast in an undisclosed role and Tasha Smith has been cast to replace Theresa Randle as Marcus Burnett’s wife. Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn also signed on for an undisclosed role, as has Melanie Liburd of This Is Us.

Despite the cast not having a long confirmed list, just like with the plot, we can speculate about who may or may not appear in the film. Since Mike and Marcus were put in charge of AMMO it was assumed that the other members of the group would return as well, meaning that Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, and Jacob Scipio could all easily show up. Indeed, Hudgens and Ludwig are back, but Charles Melton, who just broke out (and may be Oscar-nominated) for May December, doesn’t seem to be in the cast. Scipio also seems to be sitting the movie out, despite the fact that his character, who is revealed to be the son of Will Smith’s Mike Lowery, was teed up to be a major part of the sequel in the post-credits scene following Bad Boys for Life. Also returning is Paola Núñez as Captain Rita Secada, newly promoted.

The Trailer

The trailer was released online at the end of March… and while the movie doesn’t have an informative official synopsis (it simply says, “Miami’s finest are now on the run”), we can glean some information by seeing how it’s marketed:

Everything Else

Fans assuredly will want to know when they can expect to see Miami’s finest detectives back on the big-screen, but unfortunately Bad Boys 4 doesn’t have an official release date yet. Not to mention, Bad Boys 4 is not the official title since the film has not revealed what it is yet, which should be revealed on the trailer finally drops (which should happen any time now). This is Smith’s first theatrically released film since the infamous Oscar slap derailed his career (it would be ironic if they drop the trailer on Oscar Sunday). Whether this is a hit or not will tell us whether his career can bounce back.

The movie will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (they took over for OG director Michael Bay after the first two films – although he had a cameo in the third film) and will be written by Chris Bremner, the same man who penned Bad Boys for Life. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced all the other movies is back too. It will be El Arbi and Fallah’s first film since Batgirl was scrapped by WB.

When Does It Come Out?

Bad Boys 4 was initially slated for June 14th, 2024, but when the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, was delayed a year, Sony pounced on its June 7th release date, despite competition from The Crow reboot.

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2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the first film in the Bad Boys action franchise – but they’re not waiting around another year to release a sequel. Sony Pictures is set to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the first movie by giving Bad Boys 4 a theatrical release on June 7th (a date that puts it direct opening weekend competition with The Crow remake). With that date right around the corner, a trailer for Bad Boys 4 has arrived online, and you can check it out in the embed above! The trailer reveals that the film has officially been titled Bad Boys Ride or Die.

The new sequel sees Will Smith and Martin Lawrence back in the roles of Miami narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, and they’re joined in the cast by Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, and Joe Pantoliano. New additions to the cast include Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, and Rhea Seehorn. Tasha Smith is also on board to play Marcus Burnett’s wife, replacing Theresa Randle, who played the character in the first three movies in the franchise.

While Michael Bay directed the first two movies in this franchise, the duo of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah took the helm for the third movie, and they’re returned for Bad Boys 4. The directors have teased that Bad Boys Ride or Die will have a lighter tone than its predecessor. “I think that there’s going to be way more comedy,” El Arbi said. “The third one had the dramatic tone. With this one, it’s really our purpose to get people laughing and having a good time in the theater. Martin [Lawrence] is going to a higher level in this one. This is the culmination of the Marcus Burnett arc.“ The directors had previously said that Bad Boys Ride or Die was a title they liked for the movie, but they were kicking themselves for using Bad Boys for Life on the third movie when it would have been perfect for the fourth one. Because, you know, Bad Boys 4 Life.

The screenplay was written by Chris Bremner. The producers on Bad Boys Ride or Die include Jerry Bruckheimer, Smith and Doug Belgrad. Executive producers on board for this entry are Lawrence, James Lassiter, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Barry Waldman and Jon Mone.

What did you think of the Bad Boys Ride or Die trailer – and what do you think of that title? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Will Smith took to Instagram to announce that production on Bad Boys 4 has wrapped, leaving just three short months to go until the sequel hits theaters. The post includes an image from Bad Boys 4 that features Smith and co-star Martin Lawrence as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, fist-bumping in celebration.

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A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)

The captain reads: “WRAPPED! Nothin’ but Magic every time I’m with my guy. See y’all June 7 for Bad Boys 4!!“

The last sequel, Bad Boys for Life, arrived nearly twenty years after the release of Bad Boys II. The film was a big success, and the studio quickly got the ball rolling on a sequel. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah returned to direct Bad Boys 4, with production kicking off last April, but they were forced to pause due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The directors have teased that Bad Boys 4 will have a lighter tone than its predecessor. “I think that there’s going to be way more comedy,” El Arbi said. “The third one had the dramatic tone. With this one, it’s really our purpose to get people laughing and having a good time in the theater. Martin [Lawrence] is going to a higher level in this one. This is the culmination of the Marcus Burnett arc.“

Now that Bad Boys 4 has wrapped, we might just get an official title soon, but Adil El Arbi is still kicking himself for using the obvious title choice for the third movie. “Well, you know, the title that we like – I don’t know that they’re going to go for it yet – would be like ‘Bad Boys Ride or Die’ because ‘Bad Boys 4 Life’ is already taken,” El Arbi said. “We didn’t know there was going to be a fourth one, you know?“

In addition to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Bad Boys 4 will feature the return of a number of actors from previous movies, including Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Núñez. New additions to the cast include Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, and Rhea Seehorn. Tasha Smith is also on board to play Marcus Burnett’s wife, replacing Theresa Randle, who played the character in the first three movies in the franchise.

Bad Boys 4 will hit theaters on June 7th.

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Sony is seemingly asking Lionsgate, “Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do now that Bad Boys 4 is coming for you?” It was recently reported that the John Wick spin-off, Ballerina, starring Ana De Armas, will be undergoing extensive reshoots, which will push the release date back from June 7, 2024 to June 6, 2025. According to John Wick star Ian McShane, “They’re new-shooting for Ballerina. You know, it’s like, they’ve gotta protect the franchise. […] And they wanna make it better cause they have to protect [the franchise].” However, Lionsgate, in need of a summer release, would move The Crow reboot, which comes from filmmaker Rupert Sanders and stars Bill Skarsgård, into Ballerina‘s original release date.

Deadline now reports that Sony is gunning for the same release date for their Will Smith and Martin Lawrence buddy-cop action-comedy sequel. Bad Boys 4 was originally slated for a premiere on June 14, but after the news of The Crow being moved up, they decided to release the film a week earlier on June 7 to go toe-to-toe with Lionsgate. Bad Boys 4, which is still the working title, is a higher-budgeted, higher-profile summer release that will be getting IMAX and other premium screen showings. It follows two Michael Bay-directed entries and a recent third film that drove its worldwide box office total to $841 million at the global box office. The action sequel is assumed to be big enough to win out its weekend release, so moving up to become a direct competitor to a movie like The Crow is a curious move.

Bad Boys for Life filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have returned to helm the film after their Batgirl debacle. This latest installment in the series comes from a screenplay by Chris Bremner. The producers on Bad Boys 4 include Jerry Bruckheimer, Smith and Doug Belgrad. Executive producers on board for this entry are Lawrence, James Lassiter, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Barry Waldman and Jon Mone.

The plot for Bad Boys 4 has not yet been officially revealed. However, it would most likely see Mike and Marcus working on a new case with AMMO with a side-plot of Mike mending/working on his relationship with his son. Fans will remember that the last movie ended with Mike and Marcus being put in charge of AMMO with Mike visiting his son, Armando, in prison and offering him a chance at redemption, so this plot would follow up on those loose ends. Again, this is all speculation, but it would be odd for the previous movie to give such heavy leads and them completely dismiss them.

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The Will Smith Redemption Tour made a stop in the Middle East over the weekend, as the star appeared at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. It was here that he hinted at his various “mistakes” and teased I Am Legend 2.

Speaking at the event, Will Smith said, “I love puzzles, I love problems. Yeah, so I started making my own problems. Life is going too well.” One of those problems, of course, was assaulting a comedian in front of millions of viewers for making a mediocre joke about his wife. Another is that Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, have one of the most unhinged “relationships” in Hollywood.

Still, Will Smith was reportedly met with a welcome reception, with fans cheering his arrival and commitment to the crowd. On this – and his claimed attempts at bringing positivity to the world – he said, “Fame is a unique monster…You can’t get too excited when people say good things about you. Because then when people say bad things about you, you struggle and suffer more. I have to be clear about who I am and what I am attempting to do in the world. And I can’t need others to applaud for me to stay focused on my mission…I want you to feel good. And at the same time, I am deeply human. And I am in the process of perfecting my virtue.”

As for upcoming projects, Will Smith also teased the sequel to I Am Legend, saying he was talking to producer and star Michael B. Jordan about the film this week. The planned follow-up will use the alternate ending – in which Dr. Robert Neville doesn’t die by his own hand – thus allowing Smith to return in I Am Legend 2. Smith also has Bad Boys 4 slated for a 2024 release.

While Will Smith won’t really have anything to promote until then, his sporadic appearances do show him trying to save some face wherever he can. He may have stuck the landing in Saudi Arabia, but we have to wonder how easily American audiences will buy it.

Considering his warm reception this weekend, where do you see Will Smith’s future in Hollywood going? Give us your predictions below.

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Nearly twenty years after the release of Bad Boys II, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprised their roles of Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett in Bad Boys for Life. The film was a big success, and the studio quickly got the ball rolling on a sequel. Bad Boys 4 actually started shooting this spring with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah returning to direct. Although the production had to pause due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the directors spoke on The Playlist’s The Discourse podcast to tease what to expect from Bad Boys 4.

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah didn’t say much, but they did say that Bad Boys 4 will have a lighter tone than its predecessor. “I think that there’s going to be way more comedy,” El Arbi said. “The third one had the dramatic tone. With this one, it’s really our purpose to get people laughing and having a good time in the theater. Martin [Lawrence] is going to a higher level in this one. This is the culmination of the Marcus Burnett arc.“

He also touched upon the possible title of the new movie. “Well, you know, the title that we like – I don’t know that they’re going to go for it yet – would be like ‘Bad Boys Ride or Die’ because ‘Bad Boys 4 Life’ is already taken,” El Arbi said. “We didn’t know there was going to be a fourth one, you know?” Although I normally can’t stand when movies use numbers in the title (I’m looking at you Scre4m), Bad Boys 4 Life would have worked.

In addition to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Bad Boys 4 will feature the return of a number of actors from previous movies, including Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Núñez. New additions to the cast include Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, and Rhea Seehorn. Tasha Smith is also onboard to play Marcus Burnett’s wife, replacing Theresa Randle, who played the character in the first three movies in the franchise.

Bad Boys 4 is slated to hit theaters on July 14, 2024.

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Nothing like a little release date shuffle to bring our week to an end. Sony Pictures has pushed the release of a number of their major movies, including Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, Kraven the Hunter, and more. Many of these delays are a result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, as studios have been scrambling to figure out how to promote these movies without their stars.

It’s not all delays thankfully, as the studio announced the release date for Bad Boys 4, which will hit theaters on July 14, 2024. Sony also slated Venom 3 for July 12, 2024. Madame Web will actually debut two days earlier than reported, with the movie now set to debut on February 14, 2024. That’s it for the good news, so let’s dive into which films have been pushed back.

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse was originally set to hit theaters on March 29, 2024, but it was always assumed that the date would move as it seemed impossible to deliver in such a short amount of time. Sony hasn’t yet given the Spidey flick a new release date. That’s fine by me as I’d rather the animation team have enough time to develop Beyond the Spider-Verse without rushing to meet an unattainable release date.

Kraven the Hunter would have hit theaters on October 6th, but has been pushed back to August 30, 2024.

The sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife has also moved, jumping from December 20th to March 29, 2024. Although the film has already finished shooting, the actors are reportedly needed for post-production work, which can’t occur until the strike ends.

There’s also the upcoming reboot of The Karate Kid, which has been bumped from June 7, 2024 to December 13, 2024.

Sony has also pushed back the release of Gran Turismo, which was originally dated for August 11th. The film will have sneak previews on its original weekend date, as well as the weekend of August 18th, and will now open wide on August 25th. A Sony spokesperson commented on the last-minute shift, “The stars can’t promote the film, but the audience can.” The studio is obviously hoping that positive word-of-mouth can drive the film to success.

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Deadline has reported that Rhea Seehorn is set to join Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys 4, which is currently shooting in Atlanta.

It’s not clear who Rhea Seehorn will be playing in Bad Boys 4, but after some seriously impressive work playing attorney Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul, she’s sure to be a very welcome addition to the cast.

After Bad Boys for Life grossed $426 million worldwide, it was clear that a sequel would soon follow, and not even SlapGate could stop it. Bad Boys 4 will find Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah returning to direct from a script by Chris Bremmer. Bad Boys for Life cast members Paola Núnez, Vanessa Hudgens, and Alexander Ludwig will return for the fourth installment alongside Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. It was also revealed last month that Eric Dane had joined the cast and was expected to play the villain. Ioan Gruffudd has also signed on, playing a character named Lockwood, who is a high-profile attorney running for an election.

After playing Kim Wexler on all six seasons of Better Call Saul, Rhea Seehorn is sticking with Vince Gilligan. It was announced last year that she had signed on to star in Gilligan’s new series. “After 15 years, I figured it was time to take a break from writing antiheroes, and who’s more heroic than the brilliant Rhea Seehorn?” Gilligan wrote in a statement. “It’s long past time she had her own show, and I feel lucky to get to work on it with her. And what nice symmetry to be reunited with Zack Van Amburg, Jamie Erlicht and Chris Parnell! Jamie and Zack were the first two people to say yes to Breaking Bad all those years ago. They’ve built a great team at Apple, and my wonderful, long-time partners at Sony Pictures Television and I are excited to be in business with them.” It’s still not clear what this new series will be about, but it has been described as a “blended, grounded genre drama” in the vein of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone.

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Sony‘s Bad Boys 4 is getting a casting shakeup as Tasha Smith (Empire, Power, Addicted) replaces Theresa Randle as Marcus Burnett’s (Martin Lawrence) wife, also named Theresa. Randle plays Theresa in the first three Bad Boys movies. Plot details remain a mystery, though we should learn more soon, as the film is in the process of shooting.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence announced their excitement for the sequel during CinemaCon, saying they’re four weeks into filming the action-packed follow-up to 202’s Bad Boys For Life. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah return to direct. Chris Bremner is writing the script, with Jerry Bruckheimer, Will Smith for Westbrook, Doug Belgrad, and Chad Oman producing. Martin Lawrence, James Lassiter, Mike Stenson, Barry Waldman, and Jon Mone executive produce. 

Before the Covid pandemic threw the world into chaos and lockdown, the third movie in the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys for Life, banked over $426M worldwide. Altogether, the Bad Boys franchise earned $870.7M globally.

Tasha Smith is well known for her role as Carol Hardaway on the show Empire. She plays Savannah in First Wives Club and has two acting projects on the way, including The Deliverance and the TV series Survival of the Thickest. Smith plays Asia in The Deliverance, an upcoming Lee Daniels-directed horror thriller. The story revolves around a family living in a home in Indiana. They discover a strange, demonic entity that convinces them and the community that the house they’re staying in is a portal to hell. Glenn Close, Omar Epps, Caleb McLaughlin, Mo’Nique, Anujanue Ellis-Taylor, and James William O’Halloran also star.

Smith plays Marley in Survival of the Thickest, a TV series focusing on a black, plus-sized, and newly single woman named Mavis. She unexpectedly has to rebuild her life after putting all her eggs in one man’s basket. However, she’s determined to survive and thrive with the support of her found family.

Are you excited about Bad Boys 4? Do you think Will Smith’s Oscar slap incident will overshadow the latest film in the Bad Boys franchise? Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

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One of the teases unveiled at CinemaCon this week during the Sony panel is the follow-up to the successful third entry in the Martin Lawrence-Will Smith buddy cop action comedy Bad Boys. Bad Boys for Life became 2020’s most successful movie when it got its release at the start of the year before COVID would shut down theaters for some time. Even without the pandemic, the film likely would have raked in the cash due to the popularity of the first two films.

According to Deadline, Ioan Gruffudd, known for his turn as Reed Richards in 2005’s Fantastic Four, has now joined the cast. It has been reported that Gruffudd will be playing a character named Lockwood, who is a high-profile attorney running for an election. The plot is being kept under wraps; however, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence would make an appearance at the Sony panel via a pre-recorded video saying that they are currently in their fourth week of filming. The duo recorded it on-location in Miami, where all the movies in the trilogy have taken place.

Sony has brought back the directing partners, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, to helm this release after their work on Bad Boys for Life, which they took over from Michael Bay. Arbi and Fallah are also known to have recently directed the notoriously scrapped superhero movie, Batgirl at Warner Bros before the regime change. They also worked together on the script for Bad Boys 4 along with Chris Bremner. Paola Núnez, Vanessa Hudgens, and Alexander Ludwig have been announced that they would be reprising their roles from the previous entry. And Eric Dane was previously announced to play the film’s villain.

For as long as it took a third to get made after the success of the second, the fourth was put in motion rather quickly. Although it was already planned to expand the franchise further, especially with the set-up of Mike Lowery’s son being recruited for police work, Sony jumped on the project after the box office numbers of the last film, and it would seem that Smith is eager to rebound his career after an infamous incident that some people may have heard of that happened at an awards show.

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