Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, two of Hollywood's most notorious and beloved actors, have officially announced their reunion in the long-awaited fourth film in the Bad Boys franchise. After the immediate success of the 2020 movie Bad Boys for Life, which grossed $426 million worldwide, the duo and Sony Pictures have officially put the sequel into early pre-production.

The news was announced on Tuesday in an Instagram video of the two actors side by side with Smith quipping, “It’s about that time!” The development of the next movie had been in question after Smith notoriously slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards last March, but Sony chief Tom Rothman disputes those rumors, calling Smith a good person, simply having "a very bad moment in front of the world."

Returning for the sequel will be producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Doug Belgrad, as well as Chad Oman and Smith’