For those of us who grew up with Will Smith on the marquee, the actor’s mid-career struggles are a little hard to understand. There was a period when Smith seemed untouchable, where every project he attached to his name – film, music, or otherwise – seemed destined to become a smash-success. And while we never stopped rooting for Smith as a performer, he’s struggled to find work that really captures his star power.
“Aladdin“? Sure, it made a lot of money, but so have all of Disney’s line of Uncanny Valley ™ features. “Gemini Man“? I mean, did you see it? “Bad Boys for Life“? Maybe if we coul- actually, hold on a second. You might be onto something with that last one.
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We’re only about halfway through this holiday weekend, but so far, “Bad Boys for Life” looks like it might be the feature to finally, unequivocally, right the ship. With a projected $66 million opening weekend, an impressive 75% on RottenTomatoes, and an ‘A’ CinemaScore rating, the third ‘Bad Boys’ movie has overcome years of production delays to make an impact at the box office.
And this time, it sounds like Sony is ready. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony has already commissioned “Bad Boys for Life” screenwriter Chris Bremner to work up a draft for a sequel. Unlike the third movie – which more-or-less had to joke about the middle-age nature of its two stars – the untitled “Bad Boys 4” will ignore the time jump and serve as a more immediate sequel to the series.
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No word on whether Smith or Martin Lawrence would be game for another film, but considering the all-around success of the third installment, you’d have to figure it wouldn’t be hard for Sony to lure the actors back. Here’s to the ‘Bad Boys,’ ‘Fast and the Furious,’ and ‘Mission: Impossible‘ franchises continuing until the end of time.
