Sony Dates 'Venom 3' And 'Bad Boys 4' For Next Summer

It's a good day to get a first date, a bad day to get subsequent ones

Sony got a little shifty with their release schedule today, but not before introducing previously undated films to their first dates.

After the first two very successful Venom films had Halloween-friendly October releases, the third film, which hasn’t been given a subtitle yet, has been given a release date of July 12, 2024. Currently, the film is situated between Disney’s The Lion King prequel Mufasa: The Lion King releasing on July 5, and Universal’s Twister sequel Twisters opening on July 19. The film is directed by Kelly Marcel and brings back Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote, now joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Juno Temple.

The studio has also dated the fourth Bad Boys film, once again starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, in the latter’s biggest role since Chris Rock didn’t know when to stop talking. The film has been set for June 14, 2024, up against Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2. The previous film, Bad Boys for Life, managed to earn $426.5 million at the worldwide box office in winter 2020, outgrossing both previous films combined before the COVID pandemic shut down theaters. Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Núñez return from the previous film while Tasha Smith now plays Marcus’s wife. New characters are played by Eric Dane (the villain), Ioan Gruffudd and Rhea Seehorn, among others. The film’s directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah return to direct the new installment from a script by Chris Bremner.

While this may seem like good news, the AMPTP, which Sony is part of, refuses to return to negotiate with either the Writers Guild of America or SAG-AFTRA and give them the livable pay and safety they’re asking for. Thus, they’ve chosen to also shuffle release dates of films already on the schedule, including Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Kraven the Hunter, and removing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

Source: Variety