It's been nearly three decades since Friday first premiered in 1995. The cult classic comedy starring Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tom Lister Jr., John Witherspoon, and Regina King followed Craig (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Tucker) as they come up with $200 that they owe a local bully. Two subsequent sequels were released in 2000 and 2002, Next Friday and Friday After Next, with Mike Epps taking over the co-starring role.

Ice Cube recently appeared on the Drink Champs podcast, giving an update on the long-awaited fourth Friday installment, and sharing his reasoning for the lengthy delays. "I'm trying to get it out of Warner Bros. They don't believe in the culture, man," he says. He acknowledges fans who claim he should call the next movie Thursday or Saturday; however, Warner Bros. holds the distribution rights to the films, meaning Ice Cube can't use the names or characters. "Once I take the character's names, it becomes a property of Friday," he explains.

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Cube says he already presented the studio with two scripts; unfortunately, neither received the greenlight from Warner Bros. The first one involved Craig (Cube) and Day-Day (Epps) after they were imprisoned for selling marijuana. Ultimately, Cube says Warner Bros. didn't believe in the idea, despite the success of similar concepts such as Get Hard and Orange is the New Black. Another saw "the youngsters in the hood having beef with the OGs in the hood, and Craig has to come back and squash that because Smokey's son is the new Deebo, and he's wildin." So, unfortunately, it's unknown whether we will ever see the project released.

There Would Be a Few Casting Changes in a Fourth Friday Film

Terry Crews as Damon Pearly in Friday After Next
New Line Cinema

The cast of the original Friday was phenomenal, and that trend carried over to the two subsequent sequels. Unfortunately, Chris Tucker left following the first film's success for religious reasons, with Ice Cube saying the Smokey actor "didn't want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore." Luckily, Tucker has since stated he would consider moving forward with the franchise if the script was excellent.

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However, a few other prominent stars have passed away over the last 20 years since the third installment. John Witherspoon, who plays Ice Cube's father in the films, died in 2019, and Tom Lister Jr., who played Deebo, passed away shortly after in December 2020. In addition, A.J. Johnson, who played Ezal, died in 2021.

The cast of Last Friday (the working title of the fourth Friday) would undoubtedly look different from the first movie; however, it could still be every bit as good as the original with a suitable script. Ice Cube will continue to push Warner Bros. to greenlight the final film; unfortunately, fans aren't sure if it will ever see a release.