Will Smith and Martin Lawrence officially announce Bad Boys 4 is happening

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have confirmed what many have been expecting for months: Bad Boy 4 is officially happening.

The big announcement came via Instagram where Smith filmed himself driving to Lawrence's home.

When his co-star opened the door, the actor who plays Detective Marcus Burnett yelled 'IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME'.

Smith then said to the camera: “It’s official! Bad Boys 4 Life, y’all!”

To be fair, this entire franchise has been building up to a movie title that incorporates the number four into it.

Will Smith even joked about the third movie in the saga being called Bad Boys for Life.

“We shouldn’t have called it that,” he said in the video.

There have been rumours about the fourth instalment ever since the threequel dropped in 2020.

However, following last year's infamous Oscar's slap, there was some doubt about whether Sony would work with Will Smith again.

The studio put that to bed in May, saying the incident at the Academy Awards was unfortunate but not career ending.

Sony chairman, Tom Rothman, told Deadline that talks of terminating the project were ‘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.

"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.

Columbia Pictures

“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."

Martin Lawrence has hinted Bad Boys 4 will likely be the last one in the franchise.

In an interview with Ebony, the actor said in July 2022: "We got one more at least."

He added that it was a treat to do a third movie after more than 15 years between the two sequels.

"For us to come together and prove that we can deliver, and we can pull people into the box office - that two Black stars, two sitcom stars, could make money at the box office [was huge]," he said.

According to The Numbers, the first three films in the Bad Boys franchise have taken home a whopping $840 million at the box office.

The original Bad Boys earned $141 million worldwide and helped turn the two lads from sitcom stars into bonafide action superstars