As the fallout from Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars continues, the future of projects featuring Smith are unstable. Multiple reports reveal that Smith’s deals for films with streaming giants like Netflix and Apple TV are now on standby as executives wait for things to cool down. Smith is also the executive producer of the Peacock hit Bel-Air, which is a dramatized reboot of the hit 90s sitcom Smith led, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Now, the highly anticipated fourth film within the Bad Boys franchise is also reportedly in jeopardy.
The film series is a fan favorite with Smith alongside comedy powerhouse, Martin Lawrence. All three films that have been released have been box office smashes and critical successes. Lawrence hasn’t said much since his on-screen partner’s incident, with the exception of congratulating him on his Oscar win for Best Actor for King Richard.
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The fourth installment was announced amid the success of the third installment
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report that Chris Bremner, who worked on the third film Bad Boys for Life, has been write the script for the fourth. Smith and Lawrence are expected to reprise their roles. Initially, it was not supposed to be a long time lapse between the release of the third and fourth film.
The first film was released in 1995
Smith and Lawrence star as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett who protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct. The film grossed $141 million against a budget of just $19 million.
Sony Pictures didn’t initially believe in the project
Filmmaker Michael Bay revealed that the studio wasn’t convinced the movie would be a success due to its leads being two Black men. “Sony didn’t believe in the movie, because two Black actors don’t sell overseas,” Bay recently told Entertainment Weekly, as reports Ahmedabad Mirror reports. “They had no faith in it. I was watching James Cameron’s ‘True Lies’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, this guy has so much money… I have only $9 million. And they shut me down, literally. They shut the power off…That’s how rude they were on this movie. Luckily, I had 500 days of film set experience doing videos, commercials, working with some of the most famous athletes in the world, and that’s where you really truly know how to deal with a*******.”
It took nearly a decade for the sequel
The pair reunited 8 years later for Bad Boys II. This time around, the film followed Burnett and Lowrey investigating as they investigated a flow of illegal drugs going into Miami. In the second film, Lowrey begins a romantic relationship with Burnett’s sister, an aspiring cop who Burnett prefers to stay out of the legal business. It was also a commercial success, earning $273 million worldwide.
Bad Boys 4 was in active motive ahead of the recent drama surrounding Will Smith
THR also reported that Bad Boys 4 at Sony was in motion. Smith had already received 40 pages of the script prior to the Oscars debacle.
The project is now reportedly on hold
Along with two of Smith’s Netflix projects, Bad Boys 4 is also now reportedly on hold. Smith nor Lawrence have commented.
