Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are poised to return to direct the next film in the ‘Bad Boys’ franchise. Sony Pictures confirmed that the as-of-yet untitled sequel is in early pre-production with the ‘Ms. Marvel’ showrunners returning to direct from a script by Chris Bremner. The filmmakers, who also helmed Warner Bros.’ scrapped ‘Batgirl’ movie, directed 2020’s ‘Bad Boys for Life’, which reunited Smith and Lawrence as detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, 25 years after the first ‘Bad Boys’ film was released.
Shortly after the threequel hit theaters, Sony announced that a fourth ‘Bad Boys’ film was in development, and ‘Bad Boys for Life’ went on to earn $426.5 million at the worldwide box office as one of the last pre-pandemic era blockbusters.
Smith and Lawrence announced that the upcoming movie was officially charging ahead by releasing a reunion video on social media with the caption, “IT’S ABOUT THAT TIME!”
The video follows Smith as he drives to Lawrence’s home (camera in tow), saying, “Yo, I’ve got an announcement. Y’all better stop scrolling.” As a little hint, Smith plays the opening bars of “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee’s song from the 2003 ‘Bad Boys II’ soundtrack. “I wish I was you, not knowing what I’m about to show me.”
Arriving at Lawrence’s door, the duo declare that the fourth film is officially on the way. “It’s about that time!” Lawrence yells. “Bad boys for life baby,” Smith chimes in, calling out the duo’s catchphrase and reinforcing the “For life,” as they comically acknowledge that the third film’s title effectively wasted the pun they could’ve used for the upcoming fourth movie. “We shouldn’t have called it that though,” Smith quips.
In July, Lawrence gave an update on the project in an interview for the cover of Ebony magazine, confirming that the movie was still in development after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, which had caused some to speculate about its fate.
