# Bad Boys (franchise)

Bad Boys is a series of American action comedy films starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as two detectives in the Miami Police Department, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. The series was created by George Gallo. Apart from Smith and Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano appears in all four films, and Theresa Randle appears in the first three films being replaced by Tasha Smith in the fourth film. Michael Bay directed the first two films and Adil & Bilall directed the third and fourth. Gabrielle Union, who starred in the second installment, later starred alongside Jessica Alba in a spin-off television series, L.A.'s Finest.
The series has grossed over $1 billion worldwide. The first and fourth films received mixed reviews from critics, the second was unfavorably received and the third had a generally positive reception.

## Films
### Bad Boys (1995)

Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett have 72 hours to find $100 million worth of heroin before Internal Affairs shuts them down. Mike becomes more involved after a friend is murdered by the drug dealers. Matters become complicated when Mike and Marcus have to switch places to convince a witness of the murder to cooperate.
Principal photography began on June 27 in downtown Miami and wrapped August 31, 1994.

### Bad Boys II (2003)

Mike and Marcus head up a task force investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their search leads to a dangerous kingpin Johnny Tapia, whose plan to control the city's drug traffic has touched off an underground war. Meanwhile, Mike and Syd, Marcus's sister, are in a secret relationship.

### Bad Boys for Life (2020)

In June 2008, Michael Bay stated that he might direct Bad Boys for Life, but that the greatest obstacle to the potential sequel would be the cost, as he and Will Smith demand some of the highest salaries in the film industry. By August 2009, Columbia Pictures had hired Peter Craig to write the script for Bad Boys III. In February 2011, Martin Lawrence reiterated that the film was in development. In June 2014, Jerry Bruckheimer announced that screenwriter David Guggenheim was working on the storyline for the sequel. Two months later, Lawrence said a script had been written and parts had been cast. By June 2015, director Joe Carnahan was in early talks to write and possibly direct the film. Two months later, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that Bad Boys III would be released on February 17, 2017. On March 4, 2016, the film was pushed to June 2, 2017. Producers had planned to begin production in early 2017.
On August 11, 2016, the film was pushed back once again to January 12, 2018, to avoid box office competition with the upcoming DC Comics film Wonder Woman, and retitled Bad Boys for Life. Lawrence revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that filming may start in March 2017. On March 7, 2017, Carnahan left the film due to scheduling conflicts, and in August 2017 Sony removed the film from their release schedule. In August 2017, Lawrence said that he doubted that the film would ever be made. During an appearance on Australian breakfast show Sunrise on January 15, 2018, Will Smith told hosts Samantha Armytage and David Koch that a third film was coming "very soon". On January 30, 2018, it was announced that Sony Pictures were in negotiations with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to direct the upcoming third entry in the Bad Boys franchise titled Bad Boys for Life with a possible production date in August, 2018. Sony is reportedly gearing up for the long-awaited third installment to begin filming in November 2018 and wrap in March 2019.
In November 2018, Martin Lawrence officially revealed via Instagram that he and co-star Will Smith would return for a sequel. Joe Pantoliano is also set to reprise his role as Captain Howard. Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig and Charles Melton were announced in the cast on December 20, 2018. Jacob Scipio and Paola Nuñez were announced in the cast on December 21, 2018. Filming began on January 7, 2019.

### Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

In January 2020, a fourth film entered development, with Chris Bremner serving as screenwriter. Smith and Lawrence will reprise their roles from the previous three movies. In April 2022, production for the film was reportedly halted due to the incident with Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony and the subsequent investigation. In February 2023, Smith announced that the fourth film was in pre-production. That same month, it was reported by musician/disc jockey Questlove that Smith had to drop out of a planned surprise appearance at the 65th Grammy Awards because filming for the fourth Bad Boys film had started earlier that week. Principal photography began on April 3, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. The film was released in the United States on June 6, 2024.

### Future

On June 7, 2024, Smith and Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly that they would be open to return for a fifth film in the franchise, as long as the younger cast members do more stunts and there's a story involving their characters worth being told, with Lawrence also noting it would depend on whether the fans demanded more films. On June 11, 2024, producer Jerry Bruckheimer noted that there had been discussions for a fifth Bad Boys film, but they are primarily waiting to see how Bad Boys: Ride or Die performs at the box office.

## Television

| Series | Season | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
| L.A.'s Finest | 1 | 13 | May 13, 2019 | June 17, 2019 | Brandon Sonnier & Brandon Margolis | Charter Spectrum |
| L.A.'s Finest | 2 | 13 | September 9, 2020 | September 9, 2020 | | Brandon Sonnier & Brandon Margolis | Charter Spectrum |

### L.A.'s Finest (2019–2020)

In October 2017, a spinoff television series centered on Gabrielle Union's character, was announced to be in development by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier. Later that month NBC ordered the pilot episode of the series. By March 2018, Jessica Alba was cast as the co-star with Gabrielle Union. In addition to Union, John Salley will also reprise his role as Fletcher, a computer hacker who helps Mike and Marcus in the film series. The following month, the title of the series was revealed as LA's Finest, with Jerry Bruckheimer serving as executive producer for the series. Later that month, NBC passed on the pilot, and the show was shopped around to other networks. NBC's boss, Bob Greenblatt, said: "These are all tough calls. We did have an embarrassment of riches. And when we laid out the schedule and the calendar all season...it was a show that didn't fit in the grand scheme of it."
That same month, it was revealed that Sony Pictures Television, was negotiating with Charter Communications about picking up the series. By June 2018, Canada's Bell Media picked it up for 13 episodes. Charter gave its series order on June 26, intent on making it Spectrum's first original series. In June 2019, the series was renewed for the second season.

## Cast and crew
### Cast

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the franchise.
* An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
* $^C$ indicates a cameo role.
* $^G$ indicates a guest appearance in the season.
* $^M$ indicates an appearance in onscreen movie footage.
* $^R$ indicates a recurring role in the season.
* $^Y$ indicates a younger version of the character.
| Characters | Characters | Films | Films | Films | Films | Television series |
| Characters | Characters | Bad Boys | Bad Boys II | Bad Boys for Life | Bad Boys: Ride or Die | L.A.'s Finest |
| Characters | Characters | 1995 | 2003 | 2020 | 2024 | 2019–2020 |
| Detective Sergeant / Lieutenant Marcus Miles Burnett I | Detective Sergeant / Lieutenant Marcus Miles Burnett I | Martin Lawrence | Martin Lawrence | Martin Lawrence | Martin Lawrence | Krystian Alexander Lyttle |
| Detective Sergeant / Lieutenant Michael Eugene “Mike” Lowrey | Detective Sergeant / Lieutenant Michael Eugene “Mike” Lowrey | Will Smith | Will Smith | Will Smith | Will Smith | |
| Theresa Burnett | Theresa Burnett | Theresa Randle | Theresa Randle | Theresa Randle | Tasha Smith | |
| Megan Burnett | Megan Burnett | Tiffany Samuels | Bianca Bethune | Bianca Bethune | Bianca Bethune | |
| Fletcher | Fletcher | John Salley | John Salley | | John Salley | John Salley |
| Captain Conrad Howard | Captain Conrad Howard | Joe Pantoliano | Joe Pantoliano | Joe Pantoliano | Joe Pantoliano | |
| James Burnett | James Burnett | Cory Hodges | Cory Hodges | Cory Hodges | | |
| Quincy Burnett | Quincy Burnett | Scott Cumberbatch | Scott Cumberbatch | Scott Cumberbatch | | |
| Julie Mott | Julie Mott | Téa Leoni | | | | |
| Fouchet | Fouchet | Tchéky Karyo | | | | |
| Detective Sanchez | Detective Sanchez | Nestor Serrano | | | | |
| Captain Alison Sinclair | Captain Alison Sinclair | Marg Helgenberger | | | | |
| Staff Sergeant Reggie McDonald | Staff Sergeant Reggie McDonald | | Dennis Greene | Dennis Greene | Dennis Greene | Jeremy Batiste |
| Special Agent / Detective Lieutenant Sydney "Syd" Burnett | Special Agent / Detective Lieutenant Sydney "Syd" Burnett | | Gabrielle Union | Mentioned | Mentioned | Gabrielle UnionKyrie Mcalpin |
| Car Driver / Wedding MC / Porsche Driver | Car Driver / Wedding MC / Porsche Driver | | Michael Bay | Michael Bay | Michael Bay | |
| Hector Juan Carlos "Johnny" Tapia | Hector Juan Carlos "Johnny" Tapia | | Jordi Mollà | | | |
| Alexei | Alexei | | Peter Stormare | | | |
| Carlos | Carlos | | Otto Sanchez | | | |
| Roberto | Roberto | | Jon Seda | | | |
| Floyd Poteet | Floyd Poteet | | Michael Shannon | | | |
| Secret Agent Armando Armas Lowrey | Secret Agent Armando Armas Lowrey | | | Jacob Scipio | Jacob Scipio | |
| AMMO | Captain Rita Secada | | | Paola Núñez | Paola Núñez | |
| AMMO | Kelly | | | Vanessa Hudgens | Vanessa Hudgens | |
| AMMO | Dorn | | | Alexander Ludwig | Alexander Ludwig | |
| AMMO | Rafe | | | Charles Melton | | |
| Isabel Aretas | Isabel Aretas | | | Kate del Castillo | | |
| Lorenzo 'Zway-Lo' Rodríguez | Lorenzo 'Zway-Lo' Rodríguez | | | Nicky Jam | | |
| Manny the Butcher | Manny the Butcher | | | DJ Khaled | DJ Khaled | |
| Joseph Burnett-Vaughn | Joseph Burnett-Vaughn | | Mentioned | | Mentioned | Ernie Hudson |
| James McGrath | James McGrath | | | | Eric Dane | |
| Adam Lockwood | Adam Lockwood | | | | Ioan Gruffudd | |
| US Marshall Agent Judy Howard | US Marshall Agent Judy Howard | | | | Rhea Seehorn | |
| Christine Lowrey | Christine Lowrey | | | | Melanie Liburd | |
| Tabitha | Tabitha | | | | Tiffany Haddish | |
| Callie Howard | Callie Howard | | | | Quinn Hemphill | |
| Detective Lieutenant Dolores "Nancy" McKenna (née Perez) | Detective Lieutenant Dolores "Nancy" McKenna (née Perez) | | | | | Jessica AlbaVeronica Diaz Carranza |
| The Bens | Detective Lieutenant Benjamin "Ben" Baines | | | | | Duane Martin |
| The Bens | Detective Lieutenant Benjamin "Ben" Walker | | | | | Zach GilfordBrayden Scott |
| Katherine "Kat" Vaughn-Miller | Katherine "Kat" Vaughn-Miller | | | | | Tamala Jones |
| Bishop Duvall | Bishop Duvall | | | | | Jake Busey |
| Isabel "Izzy" McKenna | Isabel "Izzy" McKenna | | | | | Sophie Reynolds |
| Dr. Patrick McKenna | Dr. Patrick McKenna | | | | | Ryan McPartlin |
| Dante Sherman | Dante Sherman | | | | | Barry SloaneTyler Perez |
| Raymond "Ray" Sherman | Raymond "Ray" Sherman | | | | | Zach McGowanDylan McNamara |

### Crew

| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
| Bad Boys | April 7, 1995 (1995-04-07) | Michael Bay | Jim Mulholland, Michael Barrie & Doug Richardson | George Gallo | Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Bad Boys II | July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18) | Michael Bay | Ron Shelton & Jerry Stahl | Ron Shelton, Cormac Wibberley & Marianne Wibberley | Jerry Bruckheimer |
| Bad Boys for Life | January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17) | Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallahl | Peter Craig, Joe Carnahan & Chris Bremner | Peter Craig & Joe Carnahan | Jerry Bruckheimer, Will Smith & Doug Belgrad |
| Bad Boys: Ride or Die | June 7, 2024 (2024-06-07) | Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallahl | Chris Bremner & Will Beall | Chris Bremner & Will Beall | Chad Oman, Doug Belgrad, Will Smith & Jerry Bruckheimer |

### Additional crew

| Occupation | Films | Films | Films | Films |
| Occupation | Bad Boys | Bad Boys II | Bad Boys for Life | Bad Boys: Ride or Die |
| Occupation | 1995 | 2003 | 2020 | 2024 |
| Composer | Mark Mancina | Trevor Rabin | Lorne Balfe | Lorne Balfe |
| Director of photography | Howard Atherton | Amir Mokri | Robrecht Heyvaert | Robrecht Heyvaert |
| Editor(s) | Christian Wagner | Roger Barton Mark Goldblatt Thomas A. Muldoon | Dan Lebental Peter McNulty | Asaf Eisenberg Dan Lebental |
| Production companies | Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films | Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films | 2.0 Entertainment Overbrook Entertainment Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films | 2.0 Entertainment Westbrook Studios Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures | Columbia Pictures | Columbia Pictures | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date | April 7, 1995 (1995-04-07) | July 18, 2003 (2003-07-18) | January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17) | June 7, 2024 (2024-06-07) |
| Running time | 119 minutes | 147 minutes | 124 minutes | 115 minutes |

## Reception
### Box office performance

| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref. |
| Film | Release date | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | Budget | Ref. |
| Bad Boys | April 7, 1995 | $65,807,024 | $75,600,000 | $141,407,024 | #1,366 (#922$^{(A)}$) | #1,354 (#971$^{(A)}$) | $19 million | |
| Bad Boys II | July 18, 2003 | $138,608,444 | $134,731,112 | $273,340,010 | #480 (#461$^{(A)}$) | #625 (#524$^{(A)}$) | $130 million | |
| Bad Boys for Life | January 17, 2020 | $206,305,244 | $220,200,000 | $426,505,244 | #226 (#490$^{(A)}$) | #331 | $90 million | |
| Bad Boys: Ride or Die | June 7, 2024 | $193,544,038 | $208,985,000 | $402,529,038 | #353 (#901$^{(A)}$) | #486 | $100 million | |
| Total | Total | $604,062,750 | $637,631,112 | $1,241,694,316 | | | $339 million | |
| List indicator(s) $^{(A)}$ indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo). |||||||||

### Critical and audience response

| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
| Bad Boys | 44% (68 reviews) | 41 (24 reviews) | A |
| Bad Boys II | 24% (186 reviews) | 38 (34 reviews) | A |
| L.A.'s Finest (season 1–2) | 24% (17 reviews) | 50 (8 reviews) | — |
| Bad Boys for Life | 76% (267 reviews) | 59 (46 reviews) | A |
| Bad Boys: Ride or Die | 65% (245 reviews) | 54 (50 reviews) | A– |

## Music
### Soundtracks

| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Performed by | Label |
| Bad Boys (Music from the Motion Picture) | March 21, 1995 (1995-03-21) | 1:00:01 | Various Artists | Work |
| Bad Boys II (The Soundtrack) | July 15, 2003 (2003-07-15) | 59:10 | Various Artists | Bad Boy Universal |
| Bad Boys (Original Score from the Motion Picture) | September 26, 2007 (2007-09-26) | 70:32 | Mark Mancina | La-La Land |
| Bad Boys for Life (The Soundtrack) | January 17, 2020 (2020-01-17) | 30:56 | Various Artists | We the Best Epic |
| Bad Boys for Life (Original Motion Picture Score) | January 24, 2020 (2020-01-24) | 39:48 | Lorne Balfe | Sony Classical |
| LA' s Finest: Season Two (Original Score from the Television Series) | September 11, 2020 (2020-09-11) | 52:23 | Jeff Cardoni | Madison Gate |
| LA' s Finest: Season One (Original Score from the Television Series) | September 25, 2020 (2020-09-25) | 44:18 | Raphael Saadiq Laura Karpman | Madison Gate |

### Singles

| Title | U.S. release date | Length | Artist(s) | Label | Film |
| "La-La-La" | April 29, 2003 (2003-04-29) | 3:54 | Jay-Z | Bad Boy Universal Roc-A-Fella Def Jam | Bad Boys II |
| "Shake Ya Tailfeather" | June 29, 2003 (2003-06-29) | 4:53 | Nelly, P. Diddy and Murphy Lee | Bad Boy Universal | Bad Boys II |
| "Show Me Your Soul" | December 15, 2003 (2003-12-15) | 5:20 | P. Diddy, Lenny Kravitz, Pharrell Williams and Loon | Bad Boy Universal | Bad Boys II |
| "Ritmo" | October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11) | 3:42 | Black Eyed Peas and J Balvin | Epic | Bad Boys for Life |
| "Muévelo" | January 8, 2020 (2020-01-08) | 3:15 | Nicky Jam and Daddy Yankee | Epic | Bad Boys for Life |

## Video games

Bad Boys: Miami Takedown, is a video game released in 2004 based on the sequel Bad Boys II. It was released in early 2004 after the film's DVD and VHS release.