How long does a fall from grace last? A little under a year, if Will Smith's quiet revival is anything to go by.

This week, Sony announced that Bad Boys 4 — the latest instalment in the popular films which team Smith with Martin Lawrence — was going into production after having been put on the back-burner following the notorious slap at the Oscars in March last year.

The third iteration, Bad Boys For Life, took a massive $426 million worldwide.

And now it can be revealed that Smith's National Geographic and Disney series Pole To Pole, in which he will journey from the South to the North Pole, is back in production.

It, too, went into limbo last March after the actor struck comedian Chris Rock during the Academy Awards broadcast.

However, Smith quietly started filming in December in Antarctica and the show is expected to go out on Disney+ later this year.

He's expected to spend nearly four months on the road making the programme, covering 26,000 miles. He will film in various extreme environments, including desert, jungle, mountain and swamp. 

Smith previously fronted One Strange Rock and Welcome To Earth for the streamer.

Another project, a Netflix feature film called Fast And Loose, has yet to be retrieved from the long grass. Smith's drama, Emancipation, made for $120 million, took just $300,000 in its week at the cinema before moving to Apple TV+.

The star was banned from Academy events for a decade after slapping Rock, who had told a joke about Smith's wife Jada.

Smith said later: 'Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.'

The scandal completely overshadowed his Oscar win for his performance as Richard Williams in the film King Richard, about the rise of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams.

It comes after Smith shared an Instagram video with Lawrence announcing the news of the Bad Boy film. 

The Instagram video Smith shared shows him heading to Lawrence's house with his camera capturing the moment.

Smith said: 'Yo, I've got an announcement. Y'all better stop scrolling.'

The tune, Shake Ya Tailfeather, which is from the Bad Boys II soundtrack, began playing.

The star arrives at his co-stars door where they announce the news of the fourth installment of the project.

'It's about time!' Lawrence said with Smith adding: 'Bad boys for life baby. For life.'