The “Friday” films have been a staple of popular culture for more than 25 years. Bits and jokes from the first movie, which served as Ice Cube’s acting debut, are still used today, despite the fact that many people are unaware of the origins of the phrase “Bye Felicia!” And given how many reboots and revivals there are already, you’d think that a new “Friday” sequel would be a foregone conclusion. Where is it then?
“Last Friday” was in development when Cube and New Line Pictures made their development announcement in 2011.
After the films “Next Friday” and “Friday After Next,” which were intended to be the final instalments in the series, the star/writer even considered bringing Chris Tucker back to give Craig, Smokey, Day-Day, and the rest of the gang a dignified send-off. But even after all this time, the project is still unfinished. Here is what we currently know about “Last Friday” as things continue to move slowly.
Ten Years Later
There hasn’t been much progress since the announcement of the series’ last instalment. On occasion, Ice Cube would say during a press conference or on Twitter that he’s still working on it. For instance, in 2016, the venerable rapper tweeted “We convened a meeting. We can’t perform “Last Friday” properly unless we can. Ball is in the control of New Line Cinema. It’s a bat in mine.”
Early in 2021, Cube revealed using that bat to “hit the script out of the park” on Kevin Smith’s “Smodcast.” Twice. However, the studio kept returning them with a tonne of notes explaining why they wouldn’t work.
“Since cannabis wasn’t yet legal, they simply wouldn’t do it. The flash mob that Craig and Day-Day had in their dispensary stole everything. We ended up beating up some children and getting arrested. We observe all the motherf***ers we jail… Trying to survive in prison while being locked up with all these motherf***ers was our entire goal. Then we are taken to rehab. Smokey managed the rehab I went to, and it’s a f***ing scam. All the marijuana they discover on people is being smoked back there.”
There aren’t many details about his second attempt at the script, but Cube thought it was perfect. And when he was talking about it with Silent Bob, he even gave it a chef’s kiss. But the studio disagreed. They seemed to be fixated on a love tale component that wasn’t even that important.
As a result, it was time to start over. Unfortunately, some important characters would have to be eliminated in this revision.
Gotta Get Down On Friday
There don’t seem to be any further developments regarding “Last Friday” since the publication of that WSJ piece. While he awaited the outcome of the “Friday” rights, it appeared as though Ice Cube had a full calendar of projects lined up. His workload may soon lighten, and he’ll have more time to devote to this ongoing conflict with New Line/WB, as a result of his recent reluctance to be vaccinated in order to work on specific projects. If the widely awaited sequel is ever put into production, only time will tell.
Ice Cube vs. New Line
The Wall Street Journal’s most current report provided the most recent information on “Last Friday.” The “Friday” series and two other films he produced at Warner Bros., “All About the Benjamins” and “The Players Club,” were lost to New Line (a Warner Bros. company), and Ice Cube worked extremely hard to get them back. According to a letter from Cube’s attorney, the studio gave excessive notes to stall work. He remarked, “We’re practically at the finish line, and they don’t pull the trigger. The star’s “unwillingness to engage with the studio,” according to the studio, is the cause of the delay. The studio referred to these assertions as “revisionist history.”
Additionally, the report adds that Ice Cube believes the studio may be engaging in discrimination. According to him, his productions “habitually receive less funding than those with white actors and creative teams.” The multi-hyphenate artist is determined to follow this line of action and take “Next Friday” elsewhere: “I’m going to go somewhere else and make a smash and disgrace them.” Naturally, the studio refuted these claims by claiming that they promote varied voices and stories.
Rest In Peace
John Witherspoon passed away from a heart attack on October 29, 2019, at the age of 77. He was known for a number of iconic performances, including Willie Jones in the “Friday” series. After battling COVID-19, Tommy “Tiny” Lister passed away on December 10, 2020, from coronary artery disease. Due to his encounters with Hulk Hogan, Lister earned the nicknames Zeus and Z-Gangsta among wrestling fans. Lister also played Deebo, the local bully in the “Friday” series.
Losing two notable actors from the cast of “Friday” is a terrible blow to both the audience and the producers. Because New Line had plenty of time to approve the proposal before Witherspoon and Lister went away, many people were quite dissatisfied. Now that they are gone, Ice Cube must rewrite “Last Friday” from scratch. Naturally, it doesn’t appear that he is yet prepared to do so.
When asked for an update on the protracted sequel by Mike Reyes of CinemaBlend while promoting “The High Note,” Cube responded passionately.
“Since John Witherspoon passed away, I haven’t been able to write. Because I’ve been attempting to get that project made for more than ten years with two screenplays and a tonne of pointless notes that, in the end, wouldn’t have made much of a difference, it has just been incredibly tough to even pick up the project. I’m therefore only mildly annoyed with the procedure. In order to get the movie actually made, I would expect that New Line will act morally. However, I’m still putting up a decent fight. A movie still has to be produced.”
