Bad Boys 4 With Will Smith Is Still In Development

Ever since the controversial slap that Will Smith has done at the last Academy Award ceremony, many projects for which the actor was attached have been either canceled or put on hold. However, Sony Pictures chairman now revealed that that isn’t the case with Bad Boys 4, in which Smith is still set to reprise the role of Mike Lowrey alongside Martin Lawrence, who plays Marcus Miles Burnett.

In a recent interview with Deadline, Sony’s chairman Tony Rothman denied the rumors that the project has been canceled. Read the full statement down below:

“That movie’s been in development and still is. There weren’t any brakes to pump because the car wasn’t moving. 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.” — Tony Rothman for Deadline

The Bad Boys franchise started in 1995 with the original movie directed by Michael Bay and starring both Smith and Lawrence. They reprised the role in 2003’s Bad Boys II which was also directed by Bay, and the third installment — Bad Boys for Life — has been released in January 2020 with Smith and Lawrence reprising their roles once again. The fourth installment has been in development ever since, and apparently, it still is.

Netflix already canceled the sequel of Bright in which was supposed to reprise his role, and Apple delayed Emancipation, another movie for which Smith was attached to star. Academy banned Smith from attending any of its events for ten years, which Smith accepted when he issued his apology for the incident.