In January 2020, Adil and Bilall began to ride high. The Belgian directing duo’s American debut, Bad Boys for Life, set a franchise record with $424 million, becoming the highest grossing domestic film of the pandemic-stricken year. That fall, they joined the MCU’s Ms. Marvel and helmed the first two episodes of Kamala Khan’s coming-of-age superhero series. Led by Iman Vellani, the Disney+ show would eventually garner critical acclaim, especially Adil and Bilall’s outings, which added some much-welcomed visual flourishes to Earth-616. Then, in the spring of 2021, the filmmakers extended their hot streak when they signed on to direct the DCEU’s Batgirl for HBO Max. And to top it all off, in May of 2022, their Belgian film, Rebel, premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival to strong reviews.
From there, the exuberant storytellers were thrown a curveball that no one could’ve anticipated. In August 2022, their unfinished $90-million Batgirl film — starring Leslie Grace in the title role and Michael Keaton as the returning Caped Crusader — was permanently shelved while still in post-production. The newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery, having inherited a significant amount of debt in Discovery’s merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia, opted to take a tax write-down in the ballpark of $15 million – $20 million, as part of an overall content write-down and debt elimination effort of $2.8 – $3.5 billion in 2022.
Despite being gutted, Adil and Bilall publicly took the unprecedented situation in stride until Bad Boys franchise producer Jerry Bruckheimer gave them a call in late 2022 about directing Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The celebrated producer backed the directors without hesitation and got them back on set where they belong, just as he did with their initial hiring in 2018.
“He is our godfather. There was no doubt that he wanted to continue with us as quickly as possible on the next movie,” Adil tells The Hollywood Reporter. Bilall adds: “I cannot express how much love I have for this man, this legend, and what he did for us and our careers. We will always be grateful.”
The added wrinkle in the mix was that Will Smith was also coming off his slapping incident involving Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, so the star and co-directors channeled these recent events into their work.
“It was very interesting. After Bad Boys for Life, we were all on top of the world, and then we were all on this emotional roller coaster together,” Adil says. “That meant that when we did Bad Boys: Ride or Die … it was very emotional and very personal.”
Bilall adds: “It was really riding or dying together.”
The result is the franchise’s second-highest critic score behind Bad Boys for Life, and oddly yet fittingly, Ride or Die is also the most comedic of the four Bad Boys films. “We really wanted to make a movie that’s fun for the audience in the theater and fun for ourselves. In the world today, we need that kind of fun movie,” Bilall says.
As the two directors were going through the ups and downs of 2022, they called on one particular TV show to offer comfort: Better Call Saul. During a binge watch of the acclaimed Breaking Bad prequel-sequel, they became enamored with the work of Rhea Seehorn, so much so that they told themselves that they’d hire her as soon as they got the chance. Well, that opportunity soon came in the form of U.S. Marshal Judy Howard, daughter of Joe Pantoliano’s Captain Howard.
“It was a dream to work with her. We were like, ‘Okay, the moment we find something for her, we’ll ask if she’ll do it,’” Adil recalls. “So, once we had that part in the script, she was our first choice, and we’re so happy and honored that she said yes.”
Despite the death of Pantoliano’s beloved character in Bad Boys for Life, his presence lives on in Ride or Die, prompting Adil and Bilall to pay homage to Black Panther’s ancestral plane and their former Marvel boss, Kevin Feige.
“Black Panther was one of our inspirations, basically. We wanted to have that ethereal homage, and who knows, maybe they’re part of the MCU in that sequence,” Adil says with a laugh. “But when Kevin Feige watches that scene, we hope he sees that little nod that we did to him.”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Adil and Bilall also discuss Dennis Mcdonald’s character, Reggie, and his scene-stealing action sequence. Then they explain how Michael Bay’s cameo calls back to the franchise architect’s first two films.
I brought this up to Jerry Bruckheimer last week, but you guys went through a tough situation a couple years ago [with Batgirl’s cancellation], and it seemed like Jerry really had your backs. He not only endorsed your movie Rebel (2022), but he got you back to work on another big movie in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. I know it sounds corny, but was he a guardian angel in a way?
Adil: Yeah, he is our godfather. He was a fan of our first Belgian movie, and he gave us our big break. So, for him, there was no doubt that he wanted to continue with us as quickly as possible on the next movie.
Bilall: I cannot express how much love I have for this man, this legend, and what he did for us and our careers. We will always be grateful.
(l to r) Director Adil El Arbi, Will Smith and director Bilall Fallah on the set of Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Frank Masi/Sony Pictures
Will was also coming off a challenging time in his life, so was the fun of a Bad Boys movie exactly what everybody needed at the time?
Adil: Yeah, it was very interesting. After Bad Boys for Life, we were all on top of the world, and then we were all on this emotional roller coaster together. That meant that when we did Bad Boys: Ride or Die …
Bilall: It was really riding or dying together.
Adil: It was very emotional and very personal, and we were all so passionate about this project, from the first shot till the last editing day.
Bilall: Yeah, we really wanted to make a movie that’s fun for the audience in the theater and fun for ourselves. In the world today, we need that kind of fun movie.
Adil: Yeah, we need some comedy.
Action heroes can often be depicted as invincible, so was it important to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence that Mike and Marcus face common mental and physical health challenges that come with aging?
Adil: Yeah, it was important for them to address that and not make a superhero movie. We love John Wick and the Fast franchise, but Will, Martin and Jerry really wanted to have a more grounded vibe to this movie and make something that’s a bit different from the previous Bad Boys movies and other action franchises. It’s still not exactly reality, but it’s a heightened reality. So that’s why they came up with the idea of putting in [Mike’s] panic attacks and [Marcus’] spiritual awakening. It makes the movie more personal, but also more human.
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star in Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Frank Masi/Sony Pictures
You shoot these movies with all the signature angles and shots of Michae Bay’s Bad Boys movies, but as stylish filmmakers yourselves, you still add plenty of your own visual flair, such as mounting cameras to the actors in the club sequence. Did Bay’s foundation give you license to be as bold as you want to be?
Bilall: Yeah, we are fanboys of his work and Jerry Bruckheimer’s movies. So it was really important for us to have that nostalgia and honor the past. It’s what we grew up on, but at the same time, we also wanted to bring something modern, something new and something fresh. That’s why we took inspiration from video games and social media, and we did a lot of research to find cool angles and cool shots and funky moments. So that blend of past and present really is important for us.
Michael Bay had another memorable cameo in Ride or Die. He’s probably not playing his “Wedding MC” from Bad Boys for Life, but is it possible he’s playing the same guy he played in Bad Boys II, just with the classic Porsche?
Adil: Yeah, this is true. Bad Boys for Life was more of an homage to the first Bad Boys, and Bad Boys: Ride or Die is more of an homage to Bad Boys II. And, absolutely, it’s a good callback to that moment [with Bay driving a clunker] in Bad Boys II. Also, the black Porsche in Bad Boys: Ride or Die is actually the car from the first Bad Boys, so we have a double homage or double Easter egg there.
Bilall: The real Bad Boys are going to know!
Adil & Bilall: (Laugh.)
Everybody is raving about the Reggie (Dennis Mcdonald) sequence. What’s the story behind putting it together?
Bilall: Yeah, the Reggie sequence is the ultimate. He really stole the movie. The Bad Boys II scene with Reggie is so iconic. I’ve seen it a million times.
Adil: Yeah, me too. For all the Bad Boys fans, that’s always one of the highlights.
Bilall: And now to see his payoff in this movie.
Adil: Yeah, the two of us, together with Will and Martin, were like, “Okay, 20 years later, how are we going to do the greatest, coolest payoff to that one scene in 2003?” In the history of cinema, a payoff to a setup like that has never happened in a movie series. So Dennis did a great job. He has only made three movies and they are all Bad Boys movies.
Bilall: Maybe we should do a Reggie spinoff.
I’d watch a Reggie and Armando spinoff.
Adil: That’d be a crazy duo!
Bilall: Absolutely. They call him “Hot Mando” because he’s sexy and he can fight.
Adil: And Reggie doesn’t say anything except, “Sir, yes sir.”
Adil & Bilall: (Laugh.)
Was Reggie’s barbeque scene added late in the game after everyone saw how much his action sequence connected with people?
Adil: Well, there was always a barbecue scene in the script, and Reggie was always a part of it. We shot that in Miami after the strike, after a six-month hiatus, but the barbecue scene used to be way bigger. So we just focused on one part of it, and it was that one part with Reggie.
Bilall: On the day itself, there were new lines coming out.
Adil: Yeah, they were improvising a lot, so it was really a lot of fun. But the scene used to be part of a bigger barbecue scene, and we just went straight to its essence.
There’s a sequence with Joe Pantoliano that’s very reminiscent of Black Panther’s ancestral plane.
Adil & Bilall: (Laugh.)
Adil: Exactly, yes!
Given that you’ve worked for Marvel, did you feel permitted to pay homage to that?
Adil: Yeah, Black Panther was one of our inspirations, basically. We wanted to have that ethereal homage, and who knows, maybe they’re part of the MCU in that sequence. (Laughs.) But when Kevin Feige watches that scene, we hope he sees that little nod that we did to him.
I’m a big Rhea Seehorn fan. She plays Howard’s (Pantoliano) U.S. Marshal daughter. Can you tell me about casting her and working with her?
Adil: Well, for us, it was Better Call Saul.
Bilall: We are gigantic fans of Better Call Saul and gigantic fans of hers. We were binge watching it like crazy, and when we saw the role [of Judy Howard], we were like, “We need to cast Rhea.”
Adil: It was a dream to work with her. We were like, “Okay, the moment we find something for her, we’ll ask if she’ll do it.” So, once we had that part in the script, she was our first choice, and we’re so happy and honored that she said yes.
Knowing that you guys are Better Call Saul fans has made my day.
Adil & Bilall: (Laugh.)
Adil: Yeah, that’s the beauty of all this. We feel like lucky fanboys. In what world can you watch something, be a huge fan and say, “Oh, I would love to meet that person and work with that person” — and then it happens? So it was super cool.
What’s also impressive is that you managed to have us root for Jacob Scipio’s Armando even though he was the villain in the last movie.
Bilall: He is a great actor, and his storyline is well written.
Adil: It’s a tragic character and a tragic storyline. Jacob is a great action hero and actor, but he’s also very subtle. He understood how to make the audience feel sympathy and sorry for him, even though did really horrible things. So that’s really a testament to his performance. We were hoping that the audience would dig him, and every time we screened for test audiences, he always came up as one of the favorite characters. And that’s also when we were like, “Okay, maybe an Armando spinoff would be great.” But his role was well written, and he played it marvelously.
What else did the test audiences respond to the most?
Adil: Reggie, and the chemistry between Mike and Marcus. Even though we were convinced by it, it’s always interesting to see the audience laugh.
Bilall: What they have is timeless. It’s unbelievable how magical Mike and Marcus’ chemistry is. We’ve been out to all the premieres, and you see how much love [for them] there is around the world. It’s crazy.
Adil: We’ve learned that people want to see Mike and Marcus in any situation. You could put them in a science-fiction future, whatever, and as long as it’s Mike and Marcus, people want to see how they would react.
Directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi on the set of Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Frank Masi/Sony Pictures
The behind-the-scenes footage of the club sequence illustrates how much you enjoy creating innovative shots, especially with the SnorriCam. So what are some of your favorite shots overall?
Adil: There are a lot! My personal favorite is the drone shot that we have in Gatorville, right before Gatorville’s SnorriCam shot, which is my second favorite one. But that drone shot was done by the [drone operator] guys from Ambulance. We said, “Hey, can you fly a drone inside with actors and special effects?” And they did it! It was fantastic.
Bilall: My favorite is a comedic shot. I love the shot when Martin looks at his watch. It’s simple, but it really tells our style.
Adil: Yeah, it’s the point of view of the watch, and that was also pretty funny.
Will and Martin told THR that they have one more Bad Boys movie in them. Would the two of you accept that challenge of wrapping up their tenure in this franchise?
Bilall: When our brothers ask us to go for another ride …
Adil: We’ll be there!
Bilall: We ride together, we die together.
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die is now playing in movie theaters.