Continuing a franchise of one of the best action movies to ever play the game, Bad Boys: Ride or Die looks to be a hit with audiences all over. With that in mind, two natural follow up questions come to mind when assessing the future of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s buddy cop comedy: how successful will Ride or Die be, and will these misbehaving gentlemen want to return for another round?
Will Smith certainly has thoughts on a fifth movie, and he shared them recently in an interview with EW. Now while the man’s no stranger to summer blockbusters, sequels, and the crossroads where both concepts meet, Smith has some very specific points to address.With that in mind, here’s what he had to say about a potential Bad Boys 5:
It is a world and characters that are just an absolute joy to be with. In a movie theater with Mike and Marcus, it just feels like home. So, as long as there's a reason — I never wanted to be one of those dudes who make sequels just because people will go. I want to make them because there is something to say and the characters have a place that they're developing to that will be interesting and fun to watch and maybe even a little helpful.
No matter what happens at the box office, the desire of leads like Will Smith to return to a franchise like Bad Boys is a key stone in the foundation of any potential sequel. While Bad Boys: Ride or Die did sneak in a recasting of Theresa, Marcus’s wife, replacing either of the marquee leads would be even more noticeable.
Reading Will Smith calling this long spanning saga "an absolute joy" definitely helps sell his dedication to continue making Bad Boys movies. That admiration seems to be mutual, thanks to the reactions to directors Adil & Bilall’s latest. With fans like CinemaBlend’s own Phillip Sledge praising Ride or Die’s “big screen experience,” the conditions certainly feel right for Miami’s streets to experience yet another dose of law enforcement mayhem and comedy.
Bad Boys 4’s triumphant opening weekend certainly helps fuel the expectations for this series to continue, especially with some of the developments that took place. Also, the film’s ending does leave things pretty open ended for Mike and Marcus to speed back into theaters.
Considering how fast Ride or Die was greenlit after the blockbuster performance of Bad Boys for Life, it wouldn’t even be that shocking if a sequel was announced in the weeks to come. Again, we’ll just have to wait and see how successful Bad Boys: Ride or Die is, as it’s currently playing in its theatrical release. In the meantime, you can revisit the previous chapter, Bad Boys for Life, through access to a Hulu subscription.
