Comedian and box office titan Martin Lawrence says that the now notorious Will Smith slap at the Oscars will not stop the two from starring in the highly anticipated “Bad Boys 4” movie.
Martin also said the franchise had been one of the most pivotal associations of his life. While thinking about the 1995 movie that started it all, he said, “It was big.”
“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]… I didn’t go to college, so I felt TV was my college years,” Martin Lawrence said in Ebony magazine’s July issue. “I felt with movies, I had graduated; it was just different.”
But what is not different is his relationship with his friend and co-star, Will Smith.
Will Smith has been ridiculed over the last few months after striking comedian Chris Rock during the live broadcast of the Academy Awards, the first to be produced by a Black man, Will Packer.
Pre-production on “Bad Boys 4” was halted indefinitely after Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock. AllHipHop.com covered the backlash, noting that since the incident, Will Smith has retreated in a chance to heal from whatever prompted him to lash out at the host.
Still, Martin Lawrence has his boy’s back, saying there will be another “Bad Boys” film. Ebony quoted the comedian confirming, “We got one more at least.”
The “Bad Boys” franchise of movies is big business. “Bad Boys” made $141 million worldwide at the box office when it was released in 1995.
The sequel, “Bad Boys II,” earned $242 million when released in July of 2003.
And the third installment, “Bad Boys For Life,” raked in almost $430 million in global ticket sales.