Bad Boys: Ride or Die will feature the return of many audience favorites, but there’s one OG character whose fate needs to be paid off.

Will Smith as Mike Lowrey and Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett in Bad Boys Ride or Die and Tcheky Karyo as Fouchet from Bad Boys

Bad Boys: Ride or Die has the chance to bring back one of the franchise’s original characters, and it’s not Gabrielle Union’s Syd. Will Smith’s movie star career really began with the original Bad Boys in 1995, which also marked the debut of a certain auteur named Michael Bay. Smith was still best known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when the first entry arrived, but its success transformed his career. While he went on to box office and awards success elsewhere, Smith has remained loyal to the Bad Boys movie franchise, having returned for every sequel.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die reunites Smith with co-star Martin Lawrence once more, with their characters Mike and Marcus forced to go on the run while clearing a friend’s name. The third movie Bad Boys for Life exceeded expectations both critically and commercially in 2020, so it didn’t take Sony long to greenlight a fourth chapter. The next entry will have some familiar faces returning, even Joe Pantoliano as Bad Boys’ deceased Captain Howard, who recorded his old friends a video message before his death.

Bad Boys: Ride Or Die Should Reveal What Became Of Tea Leoni’s Julie

Julie was the third main character of Bad Boys

Martin Lawrence, Tea Leoni and Will Smith in the poster for Bad Boys

Fans of Bad Boys are (understandably) disappointed Gabrielle Union’s Syd doesn’t appear to be part of Ride or Die, with the character having appeared in Bad Boys II and spinoff L.A.’s Finest. There is still a chance Syd could make a cameo, but one character the franchise hasn’t touched upon since the original is Julie Mott, played by Tea Leoni. Julie witnessed a friend of Smith’s Mike being gunned down, so he and his partner were assigned to protect her.

While the Bad Boys series is centered around Smith and Lawrence, some forget that Leoni is the third lead of the first film.

The trouble there was that Mike and Marcus were forced to pose as one another around her, due to some comical misunderstandings. While the Bad Boys series is centered around Smith and Lawrence, some forget that Leoni is the third lead of the first film. Julie’s tangled relationship with Marcus and Mike powers much of the plot, with the pair forced to stage a dramatic (and bloody) rescue when the movie’s villain Fouchet (Tchéky Karyo) kidnaps her in the finale.

Why Julie Didn’t Appear In The Bad Boys Sequels

Julie’s post-Bad Boys fate has never been addressed

Julie was last seen in Bad Boy’s final shot, where the wounded Marcus has handcuffed her to Mike as a gag. The Bad Boys sequels never addressed what became of Leoni’s character nor mentioned her in passing. The most logical reason Julie didn’t return is that she wasn’t a police officer, but a normal civilian who went back to her life after the events of the first film. Despite growing close to Mike and Marcus during the story, there’s also nothing to say they stayed in touch in the years afterward.

There is also the fact Leoni became an in-demand actor following Bad Boys’ success. She went on to appear in movies like Deep Impact and Jurassic Park III, and later fronted CBS’ political drama Madam Secretary for six seasons. It would have been tricky to contrive a reason for later Bad Boys movies to add Julie to the story, though not exactly out of the question either. Perhaps it was decided that her fate following Bad Boys was up to the audiences to decide for themselves.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence sitting in a car looking out the window as their characters from Bad Boys

Could Tea Leoni’s Julie Cameo In Bad Boys: Ride Or Die?

Bad Boys 4 has the perfect excuse to include a Julie cameo

Tea Leoni as Julie Mott holding a small dog in Bad Boys

If he stayed in touch with Julie, she could easily appear during Bad Boys 4’s wedding scene, and give viewers an update on what she’s been up to in the 29 years or so since her last appearance.

Leoni isn’t included in Bad Boys: Ride or Die’s cast, so the odds of a Julie cameo are slim. The sequel does have a reasonable excuse to add a Julie cameo though, since Bad Boys 4 will see Mike marrying Melanie Liburd’s character. If he stayed in touch with Julie, she could easily appear during the wedding scene, and give viewers an update on what she’s been up to in the 29 years or so since her last appearance.

If Leoni does make an unexpected appearance, it would mark her first movie since 2011’s Tower Heist, a Ben Stiller/Eddie Murphy comedy. After that, Leoni’s focus was on Madam Secretary and once the series ended, she took an extended break from the business to focus on family. She is set to appear in the upcoming black comedy Death of a Unicorn, about a father and daughter who hit a real unicorn with their car. Alongside Leoni, the cast includes Paul Rudd, Richard E. Grant and Jenna Ortega.

A Bad Boys: Ride or Die cameo would be a splashy way to announce the end of Tea Leoni’s acting hiatus too. If Julie is returning for the 2024 sequel, the filmmakers are playing their cards close to the vest, so audiences will have to find out for themselves when the fourth instalment arrives.

The first three Bad Boys movies are all available to stream on Starz.