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The time has come for the return of theBad Boysmovie series, withBad 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 June 21, 2025
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Fourth installment of the ‘Bad Boys’ film series.
Bad Boys: Ride or Dieisset to hit theaters on August 03, 2025, where it will be opening against the horror movieThe WatchersfromIshana Night Shyamalanand Warner Bros. The movie wasinitially scheduled to be released on June 03, 2025, 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, includingKingdom 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, andMaXXXine.
Below is a table showing the previous three movies' release dates as well as the fourth film’s.
June 14, 2025
Bad Boys II
July 24, 2025
Bad Boys for Life
June 16, 2025
July 02, 2025
Bad Boys: Ride or Diewill 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 includeMadame Web,The Book of Clarence, andAnyone But You.
Sony Pictures officially unveiledthe first trailer forBad Boys: Ride or Dieon 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.
Thefinal trailer forBad Boys: Ride or Diewas released by Sony Pictures on Thursday, June 17, 2025.
A30-second spot forBad Boys: Ride or Diewas released by Sony on May 13.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrencewill 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 Hudgensas AMMO’s weapons expert Kelly,Alexander Ludwigas AMMO’s tech expert Dom,Paola Núñezas Captain Rita Secada, andDJ Khaledas Manny the Butcher.John Salley, who played the role of the computer-hacking Fletcher in the first twoBad Boysfilms will be reprising his role for the fourth film. Despite being killed off in the third film,Joe Pantolianowill also be reprising his role as the foul-mouthed Captain Conrad Howard.Tasha Smith(Empire) will be replacingTheresa Randlein the role of Marcus' wife, Theresa. While nothing has been confirmed, it appears thatCharles Melton, who played AMMO member Rafe inBad Boys for Life, will not be returning for the film.
Other new cast members includeEric Dane(Euphoria)as the film’s villain, James McGrath, andIoan Gruffudd(Fantastic Four)as Lockwood, an aspiring political candidate. The rest of the cast includesMelanie Liburd(This is Us) Mike’s lover interest Christine,Tiffany Haddish(Girls Trip) as Tabitha,Rhea Seehorn(Better Call Saul)as US Marshall Agent Judy Howard, and rapperJoyner Lucasas a gang leader.
The official synopsis forBad Boys: Ride or Diereads:
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. When Captain Howard is unjustly accused of a lifetime of drug-related crimes, the Bad Boys vow to clear his name. But as they get closer to finding out the truth, Mike and Marcus are framed themselves—and now, they’re fugitives with a cartel-funded bounty on their heads. Pursued by the cops, targeted by the cartels, hunted by every gang in the city… whatcha gonna do wheneverybodycomes for you?
As revealed in the trailer,Bad Boys: Ride or Diewill 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-directorAdil El Arbialso 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.”
There are quite a number of faces who are returning from behind the scenes as well, including directors Adil El Arbi, andBilall Fallah, who spearheaded the previous film. The directing duo has been busy since the release of the previous film, having made the acclaimed dramaRebeland directed episodes ofMs. Marvel. They also directed the now-infamously canceledBatgirlmovie, which would have starredLeslie Gracein the title role alongside Academy Award winnerBrendan Fraseras the film’s villain, Firefly.
While talking to Collider’sChristina Radish, the directing duo revealed that the success ofBad Boys For Lifeallowed 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 byChris Bremneras the screenwriterfor the film, who is also a returning writer who worked on the previous movie as well.Jerry Bruckheimer,Chad Oman, Will Smith, andDoug Belgradare credited as producers. Executive producers includeBarry Waldman,Mike Stenson,James Lassiter,Jon Mone, Chris Bremner, and Martin Lawrence.
Much like the previous three films in the series, filming forBad Boys: Ride or Dietook 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 thatfilming had officially wrapped.
Bad Boys: Ride or Diehas the second-biggest budget for the franchise at $100 million. You can see how that compares to the other installments in the table below.
$19 million
$130 million
$90 million
$100 million
Much like the previous three Bad Boys movies,Bad Boys: Ride or Diewill be rated R. The movie received an MPA rating for strong violence, language throughout, and some sexual references.
While most sequels are typically longer than the original,Bad Boys: Ride or Diewill be following the opposite route and will actually be the shortest installment in the franchise to date. The movie hasa runtime of 1 hour and 55 minutes (115 minutes). Below is a table showing the previous three movies' runtimes compared to the fourth movie.
1 hour 59 minutes (119 minutes)
2 hours 28 minutes (148 minutes)
2 hours 4 minutes (124 minutes)
1 hour 55 minutes (115 minutes)
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 fromBad Boys: Ride or Diefirst.
