We may never seeFriday 4, akaLast Friday, ever come to be, but that hasn’t been for a lack of interest from series star and co-creatorIce Cube. Back in 1995, Cube co-wrote and starred in the originalFriday,a cult classic considered by many to be one of the best comedies of its era. Cube would go on to write and star in both sequels, 2000’sNext Fridayand 2002’sFriday After Next. He has since spent the past 20 years fantasizing about making a fourth movie that was never able to get off the ground.
In a new interview for Mike Tyson’sHotboxin’podcast (viaVariety), Cube opened up a bit more on the current state of theFridayfranchise. As the franchise rights are owned by New Line, which has since been acquired by Warner Bros., it’s not up to Cube if and when another movie can go into production. He describes the studio as being “weird” with the rights, suggesting they won’t let him have any control of a potentialFriday 4and that’s what’s been holding things up.
“I don’t know. Warner Bros. is weird right now. I don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know what they’re doing. We’d love to have it back. I think it’s going be close to a time when we get it back. So, we’ll either wait for that time, or we’ll keep trying to convince them that they need to let us control the movie. It’s my movie, but they have distribution control.”
One option, as Tyson posited to Cube, would be to purchase back the rights from Warner Bros. and New Line. Cube makes it clear that this is not an option, arguing that he shouldn’t have to purchase something he sees as his in the first place.
“I ain’t putting sh*t up for it. F**k no. They need to give it to me, and they’re going to make money. I’m not about to pay for my own stuff, that’s stupid. They need to do the right thing, get it to us, let us turn it into more money, and make the fans happy…We can do a lot with it.”
Related:Chris Tucker Agrees to Friday Reboot Under One Condition, Claims Comedian DC Young Fly
Will Last Friday Ever Happen?
There’s no telling if the finalFridaymovie that Cube had planned will ever see the light of day. It appears to be up to Warner Bros. and if the execs at the studio are willing to pass along the rights to Cube free of charge. One possible compromise seems to be with giving Cube complete creative control of the film. But as time goes by, it seems less and less likely that the fourth film will get out of development hell.
