Last summer, Bad Boys fans celebrated the 30th anniversary of the original film in the series going into production, and the principal reason why the series has lasted as long as it has is because of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The duo’s chemistry has been the key ingredient that has let scores of people fall in love with the four movies – and anyone who has seen any of them will not be shocked to learn that the stars are close friends in real life.
Case in point: the new Instagram post from Smith celebrating Lawrence’s birthday. Today, the actor arguably best known for playing Detective Marcus Burnett is 60 years old, but his pal has poked fun at him with a behind-the-scenes photo and a caption mocking his friend’s milestone age. You can check it out below.
Will Smith is younger than his Bad Boys co-star… but his proximity in age to Martin Lawrence arguably sets up some “glass houses” commentary here. It’s true that Smith hasn’t hit the big 6-0 yet, but he will be 57 in December – which means he’ll be celebrating his sixth decade of existence the same calendar year that we see the release of Sam Mendes’ recently announced four-film Beatles epic.
As for the origins of the photo that Will Smith posted, there are suggestions in the comments section that Martin Lawrence’s costume – replete with robes and a long beard – is from a deleted scene from Bad Boys: Ride Or Die (though I can’t find any evidence of that personally).
The origin story of the Bad Boys stars first coming together began with Martin Lawrence signing on to the action movie first, and he was put in the unenviable position of trying to get Will Smith to sign on without reading the screenplay first. Smith, who was multiple seasons into his hit series Fresh Prince From Bel Air at that point, was dubious initially, but he let his confidence in Lawrence’s talents overwhelm his doubts. The film was a box office smash that has since produced three sequels, it launched Michael Bay‘s career as a feature film director, and it turned Smith into a big screen star (paving the way for follow-up hits Independence Day and Men In Black).
As for the future of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence being back together as Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, a Bad Boys 5 has not been announced – but it would hardly be a surprise if we got news about it relatively soon (the stars aren’t getting any younger!). The two actors went on the record last year prior to the release of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die saying that they have one more movie in them, and Sony Pictures doesn’t want to stop the money train. Both 2020’s Bad Boys For Life and Bad Bad Boys: Ride Or Die managed to make over $400 million during their big screen box office runs, demonstrating plenty of enthusiasm.
Let’s also not forget that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence just have a lot of fun when they work together.
While we wait for news about more Bad Boys movies, fans can enjoy streaming both Bad Boys and Bad Boys 2 by signing up for Peacock, Bad Boys For Life with a Hulu account, and Bad Boys: Ride Or Die with a subscription to Netflix.