Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back together again for the fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise, and in the new film, the detectives find themselves wanted by the police for a crime they did not commit.
Smith, 55, and Lawrence, 58, reprise their roles as Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, respectively, in the Bad Boys: Ride or Die trailer, which dropped on Tuesday, March 26.
The clip opens with the partners foiling a convenience store robbery in Miami on their way to a black-tie event. Soon after, they discover that their former supervisor, the late Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), was suspected of corruption. An investigation is launched to determine if he was guilty of working with drug cartels. Lowrey and Burnett agree that Howard was being framed, and they receive a video the captain recorded before his death asking them to “clear my name.”
The two detectives call upon the help of a jailed drug dealer, Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), who was revealed to be Lowrey’s son in Bad Boys for Life. Then, in a wild turn of events, Lowrey and Burnett find themselves framed for a false crime, and they flee as they are hunted by their own police department.
The clip ends with the duo in the woods attempting to steal fresh clothes from a random home and finding two rifles pointed at them by the homeowners. Suddenly, Lowrey and Burnett find their lives at stake. The gunmen demand that they sing a Reba McEntire song to stay alive, and the detectives hilariously attempt to fulfill their request.
It’s been nearly 30 years since Smith and Lawrence starred in the original Bad Boys, which premiered in 1995 and grossed $140 million worldwide. Bad Boys II in 2003 nearly doubled that amount, grossing over $270 million. The third film in the franchise, Bad Boys for Life, was even more successful, taking in over $420 million.
As the new trailer debuted on Instagram, Smith commented, “We back in this thang!! @BadBoys: Ride or Die in theaters June 7th!! Y’all aren’t ready for this one.”
At a recent trailer release event at Sony Pictures, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum revealed that two different actors were selected to star in Bad Boys.
“The original ‘Bad Boys’ were Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz,” Smith said. However, Lawrence eventually received the script, and the casting changed.
At the same event, Lawrence said he wanted Eddie Murphy to portray Lowrey but feared his contract demands would be too high, so he picked Smith to play his partner.
Smith said that when he met with Lawrence, he was not allowed to see the top-secret screenplay.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, so you can’t read the script, but I just need you to say yes. Come on man! Two of the biggest Black stars on television,’” Smith recalled. “‘If we do this together, we’ll make it right. Don’t worry about the script!’”
