Bad Boys 4: Sony Debunks Rumor About Will Smith’s Oscar Slap Stopping Work On Film
Opposite to the previous rumors of the movie being put on hold for an indefinite period, Sony CEO Tom Rothman has assured that the forthcoming installment in the Bad Boys series titled Bad Boys 4, is still underway with Will Smith.
While talking to Deadline, Rothman talked about the future projects of Sony film properties, including Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Uncharted and Spider-Man.
Will Bad Boys 4 find its way to theaters?
But the talk of the hour was the status of Bad Boys 4 after the unfortunate incident that took place at the Oscars where Bad Boys star Will Smith slapped comic Chris Rock on the stage. When he was asked about these surfacing reports about Sony “pumping the brakes” on the development of the sequel, Rothman went on to clear some air. “No. That was inaccurate,” he said. “That movie’s been in development and still is. There weren’t any brakes to pump because the car wasn’t moving.”
What happened at the Oscars 2022?
This year, at the recently concluded 2022 Academy Awards, Will Smith slapped Rock after the stand-up comic went on to make an unscripted joke about the baldness of Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith went on to return to his seat, proceeding to shout at Chris Rock from the audience. Smith also won the Oscar for Best Actor for his wonderful performance in King Richard on the same night. Still, this shocking incident resulted in Smith getting banned from the Academy Awards for the entire next decade. Due to the incident that took place during the Oscars ceremony, a few of Will Smith’s movies were put on hold, which also included the much-anticipated Bad Boys 4.
“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 the incident. “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.”
Bad Boys was originally released way back in 1995, and is an action-comedy that completely transitioned the careers of Will Smith and co-star Martin Lawrence from TV stars to big screen icons. Director Michael Bay also made his directorial debut at that time, recalling how Sony had a belief that racism would hurt the movie’s chances at the domestic box office. However, this wasn’t the case, as Bad Boys went on to gross more than $100 million globally whereas its sequel, Bad Boys II, did way better grossing more than $273 million worldwide.
Bad Boys 4 has no release date, as of now.
Source: Deadline
