Michael Bayis one of the most famous action directors of all time, and he is no stranger to franchises. He spent nearly a decade working on the popularTransformersmovie franchise, and there are even discussions of Bay coming back to the Hasbro film series for another installment now.
IfBay is willing to come back toTransformersafter the franchise has had success and failure without him, it’s interesting to consider what other properties he could circle back around to in the future. While he’s done original movies likeAmbulanceand6 Undergroundthat could be turned into franchises, a return toBad Boyswould be most exciting.
Bay made his feature directorial debut with 1995’sBad Boys, the buddy cop action movie starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The movie was a big success, making $141.4 million and launching the film career of Smith and Bay. Despite the sprawling career that has come since then, the franchise is still responsible for some ofBay’s best movies.
Yet, the director has not been behind the camera of this series since 2003’sBad Boys II. There have been moreBad Boysmoviesin the last five years, but he’s only served in a producer role while Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directed. The franchise has been riding high without him, but a return ever happening now is looking unlikely.
Hope for Bay’s return toBad Boysgrew recently when it was revealed that he was set to make a new movie with Will Smith. Netflix filmFast and Loosewould have starredSmith as a man who wakes up in Tijuana with no memories, where he discovers that he has been living a double life as a CIA agent and a crime lord.
This was going to be the duo’s first movie together sinceBad Boys II. Thereunion between Bay and Smithwas the main point of anticipation in the new film. If everything went well onFast and Loose, it was conceivable that it could be a new franchise for them or lay the groundwork for them to make anotherBad Boysmovie together.
Unfortunately, Bay will no longer be directing the movie.Bay has exitedFast and Loosedue to reported creative differences with Smith. The director wanted to focus more on the film’s action elements, while Smith wanted to lean further into the comedic tone of the script.
After Bay’s smaller involvement in the last twoBad Boysmovies, many fans hoped that he would return to direct the fifth film. However, Bay and Smith’sFast and Looseconflicts make this seem less likely. If they can’t agree on the tone of this film,it would be hard for them to agree on a newBad Boys, especially after the franchise has evolved in the two movies without Bay.
It is possible that Bay’s decision to leaveFast and Loosewas completely amicable, with the duo simply deciding that he wasn’t right for the film. If this is the case, it is entirely possible that they could reunite onBad Boys 5.
If their disagreements were more intense, however, it’d be harder to convince them to reunite. It’s difficult to say for sure until more details aboutFast and Loose’s development are revealed, but it seems unlikely thatMichael Baywill direct anotherBad Boysmovie starring Will Smith now.
