Will Smith may not star in Bad Boys sequels

After Sony announced release dates for BAD BOYS 3 and 4 (as well as a bunch of other films), many assumed that meant Will Smith will definitely return to reprise his Mike Lowery role. But insiders tell THR that although Smith is involved with the sequels, "it's not clear whether he will star, produce or both."

Since release dates have already been announced, Sony must be fairly confident that they will be able to lure Smith back to appear in the third and fourth installments, but I do wonder if the studio has a Plan B for if the actor decides he doesn't want to star in the follow-ups. The first one isn't scheduled to hit theaters until 2017 though, so Sony does have some time to try to convince the actor that he should do the sequels. However it will be interesting to see what the studio does if Smith does end up passing on starring in the planned movies. Would you watch a Will Smith-less BAD BOYS?

Joe Carnahan is in talks to write and possibly direct BAD BOYS 3, which is due in theaters on February 17, 2017, while BAD BOYS 4 is set to open on July 3, 2019.