The comedian says Smith's controversial Oscars slap hasn't slowed down plans for a fourth installment.
Martin Lawrence scoffs at the idea that the fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise is all but kaput in the wake of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at this year's Oscars.
In an interview with Ebony, the comedian was emphatic that there's "at least" one more installment coming from the duo. When exactly it's coming, however, is unclear, but Lawrence dismissed the speculation about the fourth film getting nixed due to Smith's now-infamous Oscars slap.
"We got one more at least," Lawrence tells the magazine.
Lawrence's comments come two months after The Hollywood Reporter reported that Netflix quietly moved Smith's Fast and Loose project to the back burner. The outlet reported that a few other projects in preproduction were also likely headed that route. And, with respect to Bad Boys 4, THR reported that Sony had been in active development, so much so that Smith had already received 40 pages of the script prior to the Oscars, but, in wake of the controversial slap heard and seen 'round the world, the project would pause.
But it's also easy to see why Lawrence is adamant that there's "at least" one more installment coming. The first three Bad Boys films have netted over $840 million at the box office. The first Bad Boys film was released in 1995 and the latest installment, Bad Boys for Life, hit theaters in 2020, grossing $426 million at the box office. That's more than the first two films grossed combined ($141 million for Bad Boys and $273 million for Bad Boys II, respectively).
In other words, there's a lot of money on the line, and it seems as though, for Lawrence, it's not a matter of if but when.
As for Smith, a source told ET back in May that the King Richard star "has been going to therapy after the Oscars incident."
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