Sony Pictures has just announced that the buddy cop duo of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence will be hitting the streets of South Beach for a fourth installment of the enormously popular franchise, Bad Boys. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah will team up to direct the pair again after collaborating with the tandem on Bad Boys For Life in 2020 that more than maintained the momentum for the series raking in a cool $426 million at the box office. The announcement comes a full 28 years after the making of the original, and though the new film does not yet have a title, the news could not have come at a better time for Smith, who will no doubt be looking for anything and everything to talk about other than what transpired at the now infamous 94th Academy Awards ceremony.

It is not lost on anyone that we are creeping ever closer to the first anniversary of his shocking on-stage haymaker of a slap to the narrow chin of comedian/actor Chris Rock over a perceived slight of his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. The Independence Day and King Richard star was considered a snub at this year's Golden Globes as many thought the actor had delivered an award-worthy performance in the intrepid Emancipation, a film that he also produced. After last year's shocking fiasco, it didn't come as much of surprise that he was passed over in favor of five first-timers in the Best Actor category for this year's biggest award event that will take place on March 12.

Smith Now Has a Plausible Deflection

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Image via Sony Pictures

Those of us who were watching the awards last year were utterly gobsmacked when the actor took to the stage and unleashed the sweeping right-hand blow to Rock, who was somehow able to stay on his feet and maintain his composure directly after the assault. Smith received a 10-year ban from the event in what many still consider a "slap" on the wrist for the star who could very easily have been facing criminal charges for the transgression that still echoes throughout the cavernous Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

With the announcement of a new Bad Boys film, however, some of the noise will no doubt become a bit more muted as it's filtered through the news that he and Lawrence will reprise their roles as Miami cops, Detective Lieutenants Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, respectively. According to Variety, Smith was all smiles as he made the announcement via Instagram with a caption in all caps that read, "IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME!" And we couldn't agree more with the superstar as he is ensconcing himself within the news that he will be reprising his partnership with Lawrence at just the right time to provide some much-needed insulation from the anniversary and give him the opportunity to deflect questions that may come his way leading up to the event. It's a good bit of timing for Smith regardless if it was planned that way or not.

RELATED: 'Bad Boys 4' Is Officially in Pre-Production

The Indelible Sequence Etched into Our Brains

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After being introduced to present the award for Best Documentary Feature, Rock, who is and always has been known for his irreverent and brash style, segued into the presentations with a perfunctory handful of barbs that you would expect from the stand-up. What was completely unexpected, however, was the reaction to one joke directed at his Smith's wife, Jada, that would fuel the Oscar winner to take to the stage determinedly walking up tp Rock, who briefly extended his hand to greet Smith, but was instead met with an open-handed blow across the kisser that dazed the comedian. Beforehand, as Rock was making the joke about Pinkett-Smith's short hairstyle, the camera cut away to Smith who initially looked to be grinning and playing along.

But as Rock pushed the envelope, you could see Smith's smile quickly wash away from his face after noticing that his wife was less than thrilled by the remarks. Many initially thought that, given Rock's reputation as a no-holds barred funnyman, that the exchange and eventual slap was all scripted and intended to get another laugh, but after Smith returned to his seat and continued to bark out at Rock using foul language, you could begin to tell that Rock was visibly shaken and that Smith had in fact connected with his face, upset at the comedian's line of humor. "The Slap Heard 'Round the World" is probably the most infamous moment in the history of the event, and will not soon be forgotten — with all due respect to the streaker from the 1974 ceremony and the whole Moonlight/La La Land Best Picture conundrum of 2017.

Moving Forward for Smith and 'Bad Boys 4'

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys For Life
Image via Columbia Pictures

The production was said to be on hold after the infamous incident, but with the news coming just weeks before the 95th installment of the award ceremony, Smith is likely looking forward to returning to a familiar role in the familiar location of South Florida. Working with good friend Lawrence under the same directors who helmed Bad Boys for Life is exactly what the actor needed to get over the hump as memories of the incident will never be forgotten, but will start to fade as the one-year mark comes and goes. He will also rejoin the same group of producers in Jerry Bruckheimer, Doug Belgrad, Chad Omen. Chris Bremner will write the screenplay for the film. Being surrounded by his Bad Boys family is a good place to be for the 54-year-old who was just 26 when he first took on the role of Mike Lowrey in what has now become one of the biggest buddy cop franchises of all-time, with the first three films grossing an estimated $838 million worldwide. And it's probably a good thing that Smith will be in Miami, which is geographically just about as far away as you can get from Los Angeles and still be in te United States, for this year's ceremony that will celebrate the best the film industry had to offer over the past year.