After the success of Bad Boys For Life, the sequel to the adventures of the Miami supercops has been jeopardized by the case of Will Smith’s Oscar slap. Has the production of the feature film been abandoned?
Released in January 2020, Bad Boys For Life was a great success, collecting $ 426 million in worldwide revenue for a budget of 90 million.
This is the biggest success of the saga, exploding the 273 million of Bad Boys 2. From then on, a 4th opus was started in the wake of the release of episode 3, as revealed The Hollywood Reporter two years ago.
In May 2020, screenwriter Chris Bremner revealed at the microphone of Collider that a first version of the script was already ready. However, the health crisis obviously delayed the production of the film, which was put on hold for a while.
Subsequently, the Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, authors of the 4th opus, left the project, preferring to devote themselves to the film Batgirl. Bad Boys 4 is therefore still without a director.
In March 2022, a new twist. Will Smith, interpreter of Mike Lowrey, slaps Chris Rock in the middle of the Oscars ceremony. The scandal goes around the world and the actor sees projects pass under his nose because of this aggression.
WILL SMITH, PERSONA NON GRATA?
Netflix, which was preparing Fast and Loose with the actor, turns its back on him. Development of Bad Boys 4 has also reportedly been put on hold. In disgrace, the actor apologizes, gets expelled from the Academy of Oscars for 10 years and tries to be forgotten.
More than two months after the controversy, we finally learn that Bad Boys 4 is still in the pipes on the side of Sony Pictures.
Tom Rothman, producer and president of the studio, confirmed the information in the columns of Deadline. He denies in passing the rumors about the pause or the cancellation of the production.
Bad Boys 4 is still in development and always has been.
“Bad Boys 4 is still in development and always has been. We didn’t put the brakes on anything because the car hadn’t started moving yet.”he says, using a motorized metaphor.
“What happened with Will Smith is very unfortunate but I will refrain from commenting. All I can say is that I have known him for years and I know he is someone good. He’s the epitome of a good person going through a bad time, all in front of the whole world.”he laments.
“I think his apologies are sincere, and I believe in forgiveness and redemption”, he concludes, confirming that Will Smith has not become persona non grata within the studio. Bad Boys 4 is therefore still on track, to the delight of fans.
WHICH DIRECTOR FOR BAD BOYS 4?
Will Michael Bay return behind the camera after directing the first two parts? This is a possibility not to be overlooked, especially since the filmmaker had supported the actor.
Asked by Entertainment Weekly on working with Will Smith again, Michael Bay replied: “Absolutely, 100%. He’s a very stable person.”
“At first I was like, ‘Did this really just happen?’ And then I saw Will scream. A real scream from Will. He’s an amazing fighter. He learned boxing “Obviously, it’s not advisable to do that, under any circumstances,” he continued, relaunched on his reaction to the case.
“But when people said ‘he could have killed him’, no, a slap is different. A punch? Yes, you can kill someone. Will gave him a slap”did he declare.