'Hate When You See Sequels That Are Victory Laps': Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Say They’re Really Going For It With Bad Boys 4

The forthcoming Bad Boys: Ride or Die will be here in less than a month, and the hype surrounding the 2024 movie release is steadily ramping up. Based on the footage that’s been released thus far, it looks like the flick is set to deliver all of the action, thrills and comedy fans have come to expect from this franchise. Despite that, it doesn’t sound like we should expect the filmmakers to rest on their laurels with this newest installment. Lead actors Will Smith and Martin Lawrence recently conveyed that very sentiment while teasing the creative swings the sequel will take.

What Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Said About Ride Or Die And Sequels

Sequels are very tricky endeavors. On the one hand, the cast and crew ideally want to maintain the elements that make a franchise so popular. On the other hand though, a team should aim to use a follow-up to inject fresh elements into the proceedings. Both Martin Lawrence and Will Smith have seen and starred in their fair share sequels over the years. Smith shared his thoughts on such movies, explaining why they shouldn’t be concerned with playing the greatest hits, so to speak:

He makes a fair point in that there are those follow-ups that tend to serve as “victory laps” and coast on what its predecessors did. As a result, many of these kinds of productions end up being sequels we wish were never made. So it’s encouraging that the Men in Black star shared the sentiments above with Empire. During the interview, the Oscar winner went on to explain how he and his collaborators are looking to change things up this time. He also teased a change-up of sorts for a particular character:

Martin Lawrence, who plays Marcus, agreed with his longtime co-star’s assessment. He echoed the idea that the team is mixing up the formula this time around:

All in all, these comments are intriguing, especially as far as the character of Marcus Burnett is concerned. If anything, they just make me more excited for what’s to come and, based on what’s known about the plot, returning directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and co. are really planning to flip the script with this latest entry in the action-comedy series.

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The first Bad Boys 4 trailer showed off the impeccable chemistry between the two leads, and it also presented a premise that puts Marcus and partner Mike Lowery in a dangerous position. Both learn of a conspiracy involving their deceased boss, Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) and, as part of a set-up job, they become wanted men. (Interestingly, that legacy character twist ties into past movies.) As a result, they must rely on help from Mike’s illegitimate son, Armando (Jacob Scipio). I’d say this is a solid way to subvert the usual “cops pursuing bad guys” approach that the franchise is known for.

Don’t worry, though, the film still seems as though it’s going to deliver what fans have loved about the franchise for nearly 30 years now. I’m talking about the high stakes, massive set pieces and great jokes. We’ll soon see whether the production does indeed manage to avoid the victory lap trap that so many others fall into.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens in theaters on June 7 and, while you wait for it, you can stream the first three installments with a Hulu subscription.