‘Bad Boys’ Sequel Adds Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig and ‘Riverdale’s’ Charles Melton (EXCLUSIVE)
By Justin Kroll
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Alexander Ludwig, Vanessa Hudgens, and Charles Melton are on board to join Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Sony’s “Bad Boys 4 Life,” sources tell Variety.
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are on hand to direct the sequel from a script by Peter Craig (“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay,” “Transformers”) with Joe Carnahan also doing a rewrite. Chris Bremmer is the current writer.
Jerry Bruckheimer returns as producer. Doug Belgrad will also produce, as will Smith. Barry Waldman, Mike Stenson, Chad Oman, and James Lassiter are executive producers.
Hudgens, Ludwig, and Melton play a modern, highly specialized police unit that collides with the old school Bad Boys (Smith and Lawrence) when a new threat emerges in Miami. The pic will go before cameras next month and is slated for theatrical release Jan. 17, 2020.
Joe Pantoliano is on board to return as Captain Howard.
Sources tell Variety that Smith and Lawrence had been doing chemistry tests with talent for four new roles with Ludwig, Hudgens, and Melton coming out on top. A villain role is still being sorted out.
After breaking out as the villain Cato in “The Hunger Games,” Ludwig has been a rising star with roles in “Lone Survivor” and “Grown Ups 2.” Following the show’s impressive first season, Ludwig would go on to join the cast of History Channel’s “Vikings” and is currently one of the leads of the series, which is currently in its sixth season.
Hudgens has been busy as of late, most recently starring in the Netflix film “The Princess Switch,” and can be seen next in the comedy “Second Act” opposite Jennifer Lopez. In 2019, she can be seen in the Netflix thriller “Polar” and also has the next Fox live event, “Rent: Live,” which premieres on Jan. 27.
Melton can currently be seen as Reggie on CW’s “Riverdale” and previously appeared in “American Horror Story” and “Glee.” He can be seen next in Warner Bros. and MGM’s “The Sun Is Also A Star” opposite Yara Shahidi.
Ludwig is repped by UTA and Untitled Entertainment. Hudgens and Melton are repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.
