"Bad Boys For Life" CRWN Interview: 10 Things We Learned

Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are back, y’all! 

Columbia Pictures’ highly-anticipated trilogy in the hit Bad Boys series premieres next week, and to get fans excited TIDAL decided to host an intimate conversation in Harlem at the iconic Apollo Theater with the two stars of Bad Boys For Life, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. As it ended up being the first stop on the press tour here in America, you already know they had a lot to share with the fans who’ve made this dynamic trilogy such an iconic series ever since it debut almost a quarter century ago. HNHH was in the building to get an earful of all the gems they were willing to reveal about Bad Boys 3, and we got all that and tons more. 

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Keep scrolling to check out 10 prominent highlights from Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s talk with TIDAL, hosted by seasoned music journalist Elliott Wilson, which includes behind the scenes tales, little known facts about the first two films, how DJ Khaled plays into all of this and if in fact there will be a Bad Boys 4

Fans Are Excited To See Bad Boys For Life — Like, A Lot!

The entire Apollo Theater was packed — there was literally standing room only. It proved that even after 17 years since the last sequel premiered back in 2003, there’s still a very high demand for people to see Will and Martin back in action together on the big screen.

A Good Portion Of Bad Boys and Bad Boys 2 Was Improv

Two key examples that were brought up were scenes from Bad Boys 2: the “date interrogation” and the one where Martin’s character, Marcus Burnett, is tripping off ecstasy. Both actors joked about the guy who plays Reggie in that scene being so genuinely scared that he never acted in another role again. We checked the IMDb page for the actor, Dennis Greene, and they were right — absolutely nothing!

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SPOILER ALERT: The Movie Begins With A “Shock” And A “Break-Up”

While no big spoilers were given away during the sit-down, Will and Martin did allude to a “big shocker” at the beginning that might make you tear up, as well as a “breakup” scene between the two partners that will test their friendship. Sounds like big drama!

Prince Had A Club In Miami That Martin & Will Partied At During The First Bad Boys Film

Both guys say it lived up to its name, with Martin even saying that he’d “have to kill you” if he shared memories from partying at the Miami hotspot.

SPOILER ALERT: The Opening Scene In Bad Boys For Life Reveals That Marcus Becomes A Grandfather

In one of the few scenes they actually showed to the crown on big screens set up throughout the Apollo Theater, we see the guys embracing on a high speed chase only to end up at a hospital to witness the birth of Marcus Burnett’s (played by Martin Lawrence) grandchild. It’s pretty charming to say the least.

DJ Khaled Has A Role In The Film As “Manny The Butcher”

Will said that Khaled was so excited to be a part of the film that he showed up “4 weeks before his scene” just to hang out on the set.

Bad Boys Was Originally Given To Martin Lawrence First, Who Was Then Tasked With Finding His Own Co-Star

Martin says his sister was the one who suggested Will. They eventually had dinner to see if the chemistry was there, and within five minutes Martin says knew he had met his match. Will confirmed this and said the chemistry had to be on point like the first two films in order to even make the third one. He concluded that “friendship” is the key to Bad Boys 3, even quoting the series’ classic slogan, “We ride together, we die together — Bad Boys for life!”

Dealing with Michael Bay on the first two Bad Boys films was tough for both Martin & Will

The tension was real on set. Both guys confirmed that Bay just simply didn’t have “people skills”  and they each had to learn how to work with him. Will tells a hilarious story about almost attacking Michael Bay on the set of Bad Boys 2, with Martin having to literally hold him back by the waist.

Hip-Hop Was A Huge Influence For The Bad Boys Series And The Personal Careers For Both Lead Actors

With Will Smith being a rapper first, and Martin embracing Hip-Hop dating back to the House Party films, both men credit rap culture to being one of the key components to even bring them to a film series like Bad Boys. Martin brought up The Notorious B.I.G. as an example, saying that during that now-classic episode of Martin where Biggie makes a guest appearance that they spoke extensively about his relationship with Faith Evans. Will went a step further and added that he actually met Biggie for the first time on the night he died.

Bad Boys 4 Is 100% Possible

Without giving any official confirmation, Will Smith said that if people liked Bad Boys 3 that he would definitely be up for Bad Boys 4. Fingers crossed! 

Be sure to catch Martin Lawrence and Will Smith return for Bad Boys For Life when it hits theaters next Friday (January 17).