Bad Boys 4’s release date is officially confirmed for 2024, bringing the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence-led franchise back after 4 years.

In the midst of delaying most of their upcoming line-up, Sony has officially set the Bad Boys 4 release date. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are returning to lead the buddy cop franchise as fast-talking Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The duo will be joined by a star-studded roster of new and familiar faces, including Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd and Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn.
With the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes still in full swing, Sony has announced a major shuffle in their release calendar, moving and delaying seven major movies. Despite these changes, the studio has pushed forward in setting a release date for Bad Boys 4 with June 14, 2024, just in time for Father’s Day weekend. The new release date also pits the movie against Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2.

Will Bad Boys 4 Recapture For Life’s Success?

The announcement of Bad Boys 4’s development was not a surprise at the time given Bad Boys for Life’s mammoth success upon its 2020 release, having grossed over $426 million against its $90 million production budget and becoming the first to garner positive reviews from critics. The subsequent confirmations of directing duo Adil & Bilall and writer Chris Bremner’s returns proved promising that it could achieve some level of similar success to the 2020 sequel.
The development of Bad Boys 4 did face a hindrance in the form of Will Smith infamously slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, with some reports indicating it had been put on hold, though were subsequently debunked by Sony chairman Tom Rothman. It did still ultimately take until this past January for Bad Boys 4 to be confirmed in a video announcement from Smith and Freeman and filming beginning in April.
Though Sony may be moving ahead with the sequel, making it one of the few confirmed releases amid delaying a number of others, it will be interesting to see if Bad Boys 4 can overcome Smith’s controversy to match Bad Boys for Life’s success. A positive critical reception would go a long way to ensuring this continued success, though given the long-term fanbase the franchise holds even in spite of the negative reviews from the first two movies, it will ultimately come down to potential continued interest in the adventures of Mike and Marcus whether the fourquel can reach the same success.