The time has come for the return of the Bad Boys movie series, with Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Funnily enough, it will have one of the shorter breaks in between the films with eight years between the first and second movie, 13 years between the second and the third, and now it is expected to have less than five on the outside for the fourth installment. Whatever the reason, the next movie is flaming in with much of the fan's favorite cast and crew returning.

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on May 13, 2024

Does 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' Have a Release Date?

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is set to hit theaters on June 7, 2024, where it will be opening against the horror movie The Watchers from Ishana Night Shyamalan and Warner Bros. The movie was initially scheduled to be released on June 14, 2024, but was moved up one week. The buddy-cop flick will be part of a big lineup of sequels and prequels arriving during the 2024 summer movie season, including Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Inside Out 2, Despicable Me 4, A Quiet Place: Day One, Deadpool & Wolverine, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Twisters, Alien: Romulus, and MaXXXine.

Will 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' Be Available on Streaming?

Bad Boys: Ride or Die will enjoy an exclusive theatrical release starting in June 2024, but once the film's exclusive theatrical and PVOD windows end, it will be available to stream on Netflix, thanks to a deal that was struck between Sony and the streaming service back in early 2021.

Recent Sony films that have been made available on Netflix include Madame Web, The Book of Clarence, and Anyone But You.

Is There a Trailer for 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die'?

Sony Pictures officially unveiled the first trailer for Bad Boys: Ride or Die on March 26, which also revealed the film's title, which had previously been hinted at. The trailer quickly dives back into the action and hijinks as Mike and Marcus are forced to go on the run after they're framed for corruption.

A 30-second spot for Bad Boys: Ride or Die was released by Sony on May 13.

Who Will Star in 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die'?

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence will return as the titular "Bad Boys" Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowery and Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett.

Reprising their roles from the previous film will be Jacob Scipio as Mike's outlaw son Armando Aretas, Vanessa Hudgens as AMMO's weapons expert Kelly, Alexander Ludwig as AMMO's tech expert Dom, Paola Núñez as Captain Rita Secada, and DJ Khaled as Manny the Butcher. John Salley, who played the role of the computer-hacking Fletcher in the first two Bad Boys films will be reprising his role for the fourth film. Despite being killed off in the third film, Joe Pantoliano will also be reprising his role as the foul-mouthed Captain Conrad Howard. Tasha Smith (Empire) will be replacing Theresa Randle in the role of Marcus' wife, Theresa. While nothing has been confirmed, it appears that Charles Melton, who played AMMO member Rafe in Bad Boys for Life, will not be returning for the film.

Other new cast members include Eric Dane (Euphoria) as the film's villain and Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as Lockwood, an aspiring political candidate. The rest of the cast includes Melanie Liburd (This is Us), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip), Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul), and rapper Joyner Lucas in undisclosed roles.

What Will 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' Be About?

The official synopsis for Bad Boys: Ride or Die reads:

This Summer, the world's favorite Bad Boys are back with their iconic mix of edge-of-your seat action and outrageous comedy but this time with a twist: Miami's finest are now on the run.

As revealed in the trailer, Bad Boys: Ride or Die will open with Mike and Miles' deceased captain, Conrad Howard, being framed for corruption and having had long-standing ties with numerous drug cartels. Mike and Miles fully believe in their former boss' innocence and are sent old videos taken right before his death, explaining the situation and pleading with them to clear his name. While on a mission, the buddy cops are set up, causing them to go on the run with Mike's estranged criminal son, Armando Aretas.

Co-director Adil El Arbi also revealed that the fourth film will be tonally different from the third film, saying:

"But yeah, what’s going to happen in this one is, I think that there’s going to be way more comedy. The third one had the dramatic tone. With this one, it’s really our purpose to get people laughing and having a good time in the theater. Martin [Lawrence] is going to a higher level in this one. This is the culmination of the Marcus Burnett arc.”

Who Is Making 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die'?

There are quite a number of faces who are returning from behind the scenes as well, including directors Adil El Arbi, and Bilall Fallah, who spearheaded the previous film. The directing duo has been busy since the release of the previous film, having made the acclaimed drama Rebel and directed episodes of Ms. Marvel. They also directed the now-infamously canceled Batgirl movie which would have starred Leslie Grace in the title role alongside Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser as the film's villain, Firefly.

While talking to Collider's Christina Radish, the directing duo revealed that the success of Bad Boys For Life allowed them to get more 'funky' and 'loco' with the fourth film, saying:

“With Jerry Bruckheimer [high-profile producer] movies, we always tend to think about all the action and the crazy explosions. But actually, it’s the characters of his movies that are the reason why the audience loves to watch them. So, we went further and deeper on those character moments. But everything that we learned, in terms of camera movements and just directing on set, we tried to push ourselves and go even further. Sometimes we had some funky moments and funky shots that we didn’t try on the last one because it was maybe a little more classical. This time, we go more funky and more loco on this one.”

They will be joined by Chris Bremner as the screenwriter for the film, who is also a returning writer who worked on the previous movie as well. Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, Will Smith, and Doug Belgrad are credited as producers. Executive producers include Barry Waldman, Mike Stenson, James Lassiter, Jon Mone, Chris Bremner, and Martin Lawrence.

When and Where Did 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die' Film?

Much like the previous three films in the series, filming for Bad Boys: Ride or Die took place primarily in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami. Filming began in early April 2023 but was brought to a halt in July due to the ongoing 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. In February 2024, Will Smith shared on social media that filming had resumed, and a few weeks later he confirmed that filming had officially wrapped.

Is There a 'Bad Boys 5' in the Works?

While Will Smith has said that there may be another film in the pipeline, it is still too early to call if this is going to come to pass. Fans certainly are asking for it, and the actors still seem more than willing, so it may not be as far farfetched as some may think. That being said, everyone has to make it out alive from Bad Boys: Ride or Die first.