Two months removed from Will Smith’s infamous Oscars slap, Sony Chairman Tom Rothman is speaking out on the status of Bad Boys 4.
In an interview with Deadline, Rothman confirmed that Bad Boys 4 was still in development, despite reports saying the film was stalled in the wake of Will Smith’s Oscars’ slap.
“No. That was inaccurate,” Rothman said. “That movie’s been in development and still is. There weren’t any brakes to pump because the car wasn’t moving.”
For those unfamiliar, during the 94th Oscars, Smith got onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face after the latter made a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald look, which the actress has attributed to her battle with alopecia, which causes hair loss. Smith later went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams in King Richard and issued an apology to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In the ensuing aftermath, Smith was banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years and a number of his film projects were either put on hold or pushed back.
“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,” Rothman said of Smith’s Oscar’s outburst. “ 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.”
As we reported back in 2020, 'Bad Boys for Life' (reuniting Smith and Martin Lawrence) was initially branded to be the last and final film in a trilogy.
However, given the box office success that is anticipated for the flick and the rave reviews from critics, it looks like the opportunity couldn’t be passed up.
Chris Bremner was set to write the script for the fourth film after working on the third one.
Bad Boys for Life also starred Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Nunez, Kate Del Castillo, Nicky Jam and Joe Pantoliano.
