When you think of Will Smith or Martin Lawrence, you just have to think about Bad Boys. That’s precisely what they are. Well, that maybe the case for Will Smith, but more on that later. Even if you’re not a fan of Michael Bay, it’s pretty hard to not be entertained by these movies. It has to be one of the most defining franchises of the buddy cop genre. This duo is possibly even better than Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh from the Lethal Weapon movies. Hey, I said possibly, but just admit that it’s a tough contest. And for a duo like that to work, you need the right actors who can create the perfect chemistry for the relationship between their two characters. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence did exactly that for every Bad Boys movie.
So let’s just take a minute and imagine what these movies would be like if you had one without the other. Yeah, you already know where I’m going with this. Needless to say, another Bad Boys movie cannot happen without Will Smith or Martin Lawrence playing Miami narcotics detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. Replace either one of those actors and it would be like trying to drive your Bentley with a missing tire. You can’t do it. You just can’t.
While Martin Lawrence should be safe, the same is rather questionable for Will Smith. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last five months, you all know his situation. Will Smith finally won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his stellar performance in King Richard back in March. He definitely deserved the Oscar, but unfortunately, him actually winning the award that night isn’t what we all remember. That ceremony will forever be remembered for that shocking moment when Will Smith went up on stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face. And it was all over a joke that was (arguably) in bad taste towards his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Talk about an awkward moment. Despite winning the Oscar, Will Smith’s career has taken a blow due to the infamous slap. Right after that night, several of his upcoming projects have either been shelved or delayed. This includes his upcoming action thriller film Emancipation with Antoine Fuqua, as well as the sequel to 2017’s Bright. Okay, I’m pretty sure that sequel was never going to happen anyway, but in short, every project involving the actor has taken a blow because of the slap. And yes, that does apparently include the next Bad Boys movie, which was already in development before the Oscar incident.
Because of the slap, development on the next Bad Boys is in a limbo stage, but we have recently heard some good news surrounding it. And guess what? The good news came from Martin Lawrence himself. During an interview with Ebony Magazine, Lawrence spoke in good spirits about another Bad Boys movie and feels confident that the Will Smith slap won’t hinder the development process. He didn’t really go into much detail, but he did sound adamant about continuing the franchise. What he really broke it down to was the two of them having one more at least. What he really emphasized was the fact that he and Smith began as two black sitcom stars who could bring in an audience and make money at the box office.
This is indeed a big deal for both actors. I think the issue lies with many fans questioning whether or not Will Smith deserves to be involved in another Bad Boys movie. So it hasn’t been that long since the slap has happened and Smith has already faced accountability. From having several of his projects banned or shelved, not to mention his 10-year ban from the Oscars, Will Smith is facing consequences. Okay, now it would be fair to say that his punishment isn’t as severe as it should be. Some may argue that he really doesn’t deserve any kind of career after the slap incident, but I personally disagree.
I’ll be clear, in no way am I condoning what Will Smith did to Chris Rock. Call Rock’s joke unpleasant all you want, but guess what? He is a comedian and every comedian’s job is to offend people. No matter what kind of joke they tell, someone in the world is going to get offended. And yes, some of those people will probably not take those jokes the right way. You don’t have to find those particular jokes funny, but no one deserves to be assaulted over a bad joke. And let’s face it, the only jokes that don’t offend some people are the lame ones.
The point is, Will Smith should face consequences, but he shouldn’t have his career completely destroyed over it. I mean, did you hear Chris Rock himself joke about it? Credit to the man for showing incredible class in the aftermath of the incident. I do feel like reconciliation between the two men is inevitable, but because of Chris Rock’s class, Will Smith still has a chance to make a comeback. And what better way to do that than to return for another Bad Boys movie?
Before Martine Lawrence did the interview, reports suggested that the next Bad Boys was only on hold. He dismissed any cancellation rumors, which suggested it’s still on the table. But when will it actually get into the development stage? It’s too soon to say. I personally think Bad Boys 4 will happen and it will have Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles again. Again, I do think Will Smith’s career will rebound after the slap incident and Bad Boys 4 could be the best opportunity to make a comeback. Hey, Bad Boys for life, am I right?
What are your thoughts, Bad Boys fans? Do you think a fourth movie will happen? If it does, will Will Smith be involved. If he’s not, then there’s no point. That just can’t be argued. I do think there is some weight to what Martin Lawrence said about Bad Boys 4, but time will tell if anything actually moves forward.