Martin Lawrence Says At Least One More Bad Boys Film Will Be Made In Wake Of Will Smith Oscar Slap

Bad Boys actor Martin Lawrence has weighed in on the future of the franchise in the wake of co-star Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

In a recent interview with Ebony, the actor dismissed the notion that the slap has put an end to plans for the fourth Bad Boys film, first announced in 2020. “We got one more at least,” he claimed.

Lawrence’s comments were in line with those of Sony chairman and CEO Tom Rothman, who said in a recent interview with Deadline that the idea the brakes have been pumped on the sequel is “inaccurate.”

“That movie’s been in development and still is. There weren’t any brakes to pump because the car wasn’t moving,” said Rothman. “That was a very unfortunate thing that happened, and I don’t think it’s really my place to comment, except to say that I’ve known Will Smith for many years, and I know him to be a good person. That was an example of a very good person having a very bad moment, in front of the world. I believe his apology and regret is genuine, and I believe in forgiveness and redemption.”

Directed by Michael Bay, the original Bad Boys introduced viewers to Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Smith), two hip detectives who look to protect a witness to a murder, while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room of their police precinct. The buddy cop pic debuted in April of 1995 and grossed over $141M, spurring sequels Bad Boys II (2003) and Bad Boys for Life (2020).

Lawrence noted that if the first Bad Boys was a game-changer for both actors career-wise, the film boast a legacy today that is equally significant. “It was big,” he told Ebony. “For us to come together and prove that we can deliver, and we can pull people into the box office — that two Black stars, two sitcom stars, could make money at the box office [was huge].”

Lawrence will next be seen in the thriller Mindcage with John Malkovich and more. And while Smith was banned from attending the Oscars and other Film Academy functions for 10 years in the aftermath of that controversial Oscars night—which saw him take home Best Actor for King Richard after assaulting Rock on stage—his next project will be the Apple action-thriller Emancipation from director Antoine Fuqua.

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