Aside from the exciting comeback of the cop duo, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, in Bad Boys: Ride or Die after a four-year hiatus, another original Bad Boys star who has appeared in all four films is Joe Pantoliano. Pantoliano, who plays Conrad Howard, the police captain to whom Mike and Marcus report, was killed off early in Bad Boys for Life. Nevertheless, with the fourth film making a big splash at the summer box office, Pantoliano was resurrected, and he recently shared the reason behind this decision.

While Pantoliano playfully joked about making some extra money with his return, he also revealed the real reason behind it.

In an honest discussion with ComicBook, Joe Pantoliano, who portrays Conrad Howard in a vision sequence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die featuring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, was asked if his return provided any additional closure after his character's death. Pantoliano humorously suggested that it was just because "he got extra cash," but then pointed out what he saw as the real reason. He explained the audience was "disappointed" by Conrad's death, which is why they decided to bring him back in some form.

The "they" Pantoliano refers to was led by Smith himself. Pantoliano acknowledged Smith played a key role in including Conrad in their fourth film, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Pantoliano expressed his gratitude to Smith for making it happen and finding a way to integrate Conrad into the storyline without seeming forced. Although Pantoliano did not hear this directly from Smith, he did receive calls from producer Doug Belgrad.

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Ride or Die, which helped push the franchise to the billion-dollar milestone, is now available digitally worldwide. Here is a rundown of the streaming details.

For those who missed Bad Boys: Ride or Die in theaters or want to revisit the sequel, the fourth installment of the franchise has officially debuted digitally before its upcoming Netflix release. To see the Miami detectives clear the name of their late Captain Conrad Howard, played by Joe Pantoliano, they can now stream Ride or Die starting July 23, 2024, on video-on-demand platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, and Fandango At Home.

The film is available for purchase at $24.99 or for rent at $19.99. Viewers can also preorder the movie on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD. While Bad Boys: Ride or Die will eventually be available for streaming on Netflix, a specific release date has not yet been announced. Meanwhile, the first three Bad Boys movies—Bad Boys (1995), Bad Boys II (2003), and Bad Boys for Life (2020)—are currently available to stream on Hulu.

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What do you think of Joe Pantoliano's reasoning behind Conrad Howard's return in Bad Boys: Ride or Die? Let us know in the comments below!