Will Smith Is Hoping for a Comeback with “Bad Boys 4”: Talent 'Does Not Go Away with One Mistake' (Sources)

"He needs to keep box-office success alive, and he should bounce back going forward," says one insider

Will Smith is hoping to make a big-screen comeback with one of his most bankable franchises.

The actor, 55, reprises his role as Miami detective Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, the fourth installment in the action-comedy series that began with the 1995 original, opposite Martin Lawrence.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die comes over two years after Smith's Oscars incident — when he hit Chris Rock onstage during the award ceremony in front of millions of viewers — and will test his box office power post-scandal.

"Bad Boys is not a risk," a film industry source tells PEOPLE. "It's a good piece to see him soar. A talent as ambitious and financially successful as Will does not go away with one mistake."

“He needs to keep box-office success alive," adds the source.

Related: Will Smith Gets Slapped Repeatedly During Bad Boys 4 Scene in Apparent Nod to Oscars Incident

Another source from the entertainment world agrees that if Bad Boys: Ride or Die "does well" then Smith "should be back on top and looking good for other films he is involved with and working on." At least one of those in-the-works projects is an I Am Legend sequel with Michael B. Jordan.

Related: Will Smith Is 'More Cautious' and Has 'Learned a Lot' Since Oscars Slap: 'Time Can Heal' (Source)

A friend of Smith says the movie star is "ready for more of an impact with his work after laying low" after the Oscars incident.

“He will always be a private guy in his personal life, but loves the attention on the big screen," says the insider. “He is hoping for box-office magic with this film and a bright future with all he has going."

Months after the Oscars incident, Smith did star in Apple TV+'s Emancipation in December 2022, but that was largely a streaming release versus a theatrical test like Bad Boys. On the press tour promoting that film at the time, he said he will "absolutely respect" moviegoers who are "not ready" to see him onscreen yet.

Onstage at the Bad Boys: Ride or Die premiere in Los Angeles, Smith thanked Sony Pictures Entertainment executive Tom Rothman for giving him another chance starring in the movie.

“Tom Rothman is a real-life ride or die. Tom Rothman was messing with me when nobody was messing with me. That is my dude," said Smith.

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