The inaugural Bad Boys co-starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence first aired on April 7, 1995. Hopping on Instagram exactly 25 years later, Smith commemorated the series’ epic run, which has gone on to include Bad Boys II and, most recently, Bad Boys For Life.
“Today is 25 years since the first [Bad Boys] came out!!” Smith wrote alongside a montage of promo clips from all three films.
“We really putting this ‘for life’ thing to the test,” he continued, tagging his partner Lawrence, the film’s director Michael Bay and the producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
Speaking with Vibe at the Bad Boys For Life premiere, Lawrence and Smith discussed their on and off-screen friendship and what it takes to make a partnership last through three movies.
“[A] great deal of respect and love for each other,” Lawrence responded.
“I just learned something about the whole idea of love. You can’t really love somebody you don’t understand,” Smith added. “If you don’t know what makes ‘em laugh, what makes ‘em cry, if you don’t understand what somebody needs, you can’t really love them. That’s what I was noticing about the two of us — we just understand each other.”
After hitting theaters on Jan. 17, Bad Boys For Life quickly became the highest-grossing installment of the franchise. As of March 21, the film has racked up $204.4 million in the US and $419 million worldwide.
Bad Boys For Life was so successful, that a Bad Boys 4 is reportedly already in the works. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series’ next installment’s wait-time will be much shorter than the wait for Bad Boys For Life.
Furthermore, Bad Boys For Life recently arrived to on-demand services. According to Variety, because of social distancing, Sony Pictures and several other entertainment companies chose to give select titles an early digital release. Bad Boys For Life reportedly got an on-demand release on March 31, alongside Onward, Birds of Prey, The Hunt and The Invisible Man.