Actor Martin Lawrence has revealed that his upcoming film Bad Boys 4 may outshine all previous installments in the billion dollar franchise.
Per Entertainment Tonight, the celebrated comedian extolled the virtues of the highly anticipated film as he was honored with a brass star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, cementing his legendary status. He said:
“It has the chance to be the best one of them all and everybody’s doing their thing. We got a lot of the team back from the last one. Big Willie’s doing his thing as always and so focused and, yeah, it has the chance to be the biggest one.”
The new movie has big shoes to fill. Its critically acclaimed predecessor, Bad Boys for Life, commanded a colossal $426.5 million at the global box office in 2020. However, the latest installment will stand on the strength of the same team, with a screenplay by Chris Bremner and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah at the helm. Lawrence and Smith are reprising their roles as Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey to continue the saga.
In 2020 the film was announced, but like many cinematic productions, it hit a roadblock due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Another blow fell when Smith slapped Chris Rock’s face at the 2022 Academy Awards and received a 10-year ban from the Academy of Motion Arts and Picture Sciences. Earlier this year, Rock verbally decimated Smith during his Selective Outrage tour.
Nevertheless, Lawrence is optimistic that fans’ attachment to the Bad Boys franchise will transcend the public’s misgivings about Smith’s scandalous Oscar slap. Society has an odd habit of coddling errant entertainers. Whether or not the public will overlook Smith’s transgressions when Bad Boys 4 is released remains to be seen.