Bad Boys For Life was the highest-grossing movie of 2020, and while that certainly was largely due to it being the only major franchise to open before a global pandemic shut down theaters, it has to be said that the long-awaited third entry in the Bad Boys franchise was embraced by fans and critics alike. So it’s not that big a surprise that Sony isn’t making us wait for Bad Boys 4 nearly as long.
Bad Boys 4 was a confirmed project alongside Bad Boys 3, but between the fact that it took years for the third film to actually become realized, a global pandemic, and delays that may o may not have been due to Will Smith’s Oscars debacle, it was far from clear what was going on with the film. However, Sony played a video from Smith during the studio’s CinemaCon presentation from Smith, at Cinemablend was in attendance. While stars often appear in person at the show to hype their films, Smith could not because Bad Boys 4 is currently filming. Smith stated…
We are on set. Sorry we couldn't be there. We glad we not there 'cause we here and they paying us to be here so we're, like, happy to that we're here and not there. Bad Boys 4 is coming. We are hyped, we excited! Fourth week of shooting.
While Bad Boys 4 is four weeks into shooting, we have no idea just what the movie is going to be about. Bad Boys For Life did have a mid-credits scene, regarding the son of Will Smith’s Mike Lowry, so it’s possible that tease will factor into the new film in some way, but even it was pretty vague, leaving the door open to basically any plot that the filmmakers put together.
This will be Smith’s biggest step back into the public eye since his infamous Oscar slap moment from over a year ago. Several of Will Smith’s upcoming movies were canceled or delayed following the incident and while not every decision to do so was directly tied to the actor’s public perception, the end result was for the star to fade from view, regardless of intent. The next Bad Boys movie may be a big indication of where the audience stands regarding Smith right now.
While Bad Boys 4 is in production, it doesn’t yet have an official release date. Depending on the amount of post-production work that will be needed the film could come out as early as the end of this year, but considering Bad Boys For Life had a strong box office, even in January, it seems like a safe bet that January 2024 is the release window currently being targeted.
