In 1995, Ice Cube released one of his most successful movies to date, “Friday.” The cult classic film follows the rapper’s character, Craig, and his best friend, Smokey, played by Chris Tucker. The “Next Friday” sequel was released in 2000, replacing Tucker with Mike Epps, who played Craig’s cousin Day-Day. Cube and Epps were also the stars of 2002’s “Friday After Next,” also starring Katt Williams.
The N.W.A .rapper updated fans on the long-rumored fourth and final installment on the latest episode of the “Drinks Champs” podcast. He blamed Warner Bros., telling host N.O.R.E., “They don’t believe in the culture, man.”
Cube explained that Warner Bros. owns the right to distribute the “Friday” films. “But once I take the character’s names’ it becomes property upfront … it’s useless,” he said.
The 53-year-old actor claims production rejected not one but two scripts he submitted.
“I had two scripts. I wrote one, it was the s—. They were like, ‘Yo, we don’t want Craig and Day-Day in jail. Cause Craig and Day Day went to jail for selling weed before it was legal,” he noted. “I was like, ‘What you mean? This s— is funny.’ Then after they rejected it, they had all these f—— movies about going to jail.”
At that moment, the entertainment industry saw a rise in popular jail series like “Orange is the New Black,” “Let’s Go to Prison,” and the Kevin Hart-led film “Get Harder.” But production would not support it.
Cube said the “other script was about the youngsters in the hood having beef with the OG’s in the hood, and Craig has to come back and squash that because Smokey’s son is the new Deebo and he’s wilding. But he’s a little skinny m——— that will shoot you.”
“They f—–d around, then John Witherspoon passed,” said the filmmaker. “Then Deebo passed and Ezal passed. A lot of those characters. We was gon’ go back to the hood. They just f—– it up.”
Fellow rap legend LL Cool J joined the conversation later, calling the “Friday” films an “unbelievable franchise that definitely needs to continue.”
Over the last few years, several “Friday” actors have passed away. In 2019, John Witherspoon, who he played Craig’s dad, “Sweet” Willie Jones died of heart disease. Tommy “Tiny” Lister, who starred as “Deebo,” died of the same disease in May 2021. Meanwhile, comedian Anthony “AJ” Johnson, who portrayed Ezal, died as a result of “chronic ethanol use” in February of this year.
Cube said he wanted to name the fourth film, “Last Friday.” He also responded to DC Young Fly saying that Tucker wanted the social media comedian to play his son in the film.
“He told DC Young Fly something. But you know Chris is slippery,” Cube laughed. “Chris is slippery.”
He claims Tucker tells “everybody” he’s going to appear in the last “Friday” film “except me.”
“That was along time ago,” he said. “I don’t know what the reasons are now. But me and Chris is cool. He hit me up all the time like, ‘Cube what you doing?’ But doing that movie, I don’t know what the deal is.”
Tucker has been on the fence about returning to “Friday” films. While responding to fans on Twitter, Cube clarified that Tucker was offered a hefty fee to do the sequel, “Next Friday.”
“We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $10-12m to do ‘Next Friday’ but he turned us down for religious reasons,” Cube tweeted last December. “He didn’t want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore.”
Rumors of Tucker’s return sparked back in April when DC Young Fly made a bold claim about the veteran actor during an interview.
“I ain’t supposed to say that, but I’m gonna say it anyway because we getting old, and I don’t care,” said the ‘Wild N’ Out” cast member. “Chris Tucker out his mouth told me. Told me, literally this year — sorry O.G. I’ma say it, we’re getting old, OK — he said if I play his son, he’ll be in the movie. So if this ever reach out to anybody… get to anybody, I promise you out his mouth this is what he said to me. He said, ‘If you play my son. I’ll be in the movie.’ I swear.”
