Veteran Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer is currently riding high (into the danger zone) on the phenomenal success of Top Gun: Maverick. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his fingers in many pies, and his eyes on what his next projects will be. Among them are two potential future Pirates of the Caribbean movies. And after the unexpected success of yet another legacy sequel – Bad Boys for Life – in 2020, a fourth movie seems inevitable. Although, Bruckheimer must be kicking himself that they’ve already used the title Bad Boys 4 Life.
When Will Smith made headlines for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in March 2022, it cast a shadow over his future projects. That has been tested for the first time with his slavery drama Emancipation, with is on Apple TV now.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bruckheimer was asked about a fourth Bad Boys movie being viable, with Smith on board. He responded; “Absolutely. I mean, Will made a mistake, unfortunately. That’s not who he is. He’s a phenomenal actor and there’s always forgiveness in the world. And hopefully, the audience will forgive him.”
Bad Boys For Life ended up being the highest-grossing movie of 2020 at the domestic box office, because it was released in January before the world shut down in March of that year. Still, $425 million is not to be sniffed at, even in a normal year.
The two biggest blockbusters of 2022 are both legacy sequels, with Top Gun 2 vying with Avatar 2 to see who will be at number one. Avatar 2 definitely has a chance of overtaking Top Gun 2, but it likely won’t achieve this until 2023. It’s clear that the legacy sequel is going nowhere, because they are huge money-spinners. Everyone wants a piece of the nostalgia pie.
While we wait to find out whether Cruise or Cameron will be crowned box office king, check out our guide to the best action movies.