Fans of Eminem‘s 8 Mile film with Mekhi Phifer likely weren’t holding their breath for a sequel as it’s now been 20 years since its release – but in the event they were, Mekhi has some unfortunate news.
TMZ caught up with the esteemed actor while he was out in Los Angeles on Monday (January 2), and asked if there’d ever be a follow-up to the 2002 film. Without mincing any words, Mekhi made it clear there never would be.
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“Sometimes it’s just best to leave it alone. Once you make it a classic, no reason to fool around with it,” he said, while also confirming that there was never even a discussion about a second film.
When the interviewer noted how interesting it would be to see Eminem’s character evolve in a sequel, Mekhi agreed – but still kept himself and Em out of the conversation.
“It could be interesting, but I wouldn’t be in it and I’m sure Eminem wouldn’t be in it either,” he said.
Coincidentally, Mekhi almost wasn’t even in the first one, revealing in a 2014 interview that he considered passing on the role because the movie seemed cheesy.
“It was interesting because when it first came up I was like, it sounded cheesy,” he told The Breakfast Club. “I was like, ‘Nah.’ And I was due to start ER actually right before the movie started. And I was like, ‘Nah, I’m just gonna start the show, man.’”
But after reading the script and meeting Eminem in Detroit, Phifer was in. He would ultimately go on to star in 8 Mile as Future – a character loosely based off of Eminem’s best friend, Proof.
“I wasn’t stressing it, but what I did was I read the script. And the script was real slick,” Phifer said. “And then they flew me to Detroit. And then me and Em just got together and just started building. You know what I mean? And I was like ‘Yo, I like this cat.’ You know? And then Curtis Hanson, dope ass director. It just all came together. You know what I mean? And we kinda wanted to be true to—Cause it was loosely based on Em’s career and Em’s life and Proof…And I felt honored—especially R.I.P to Proof. Being able to show him in that light. Cause I thought the movie was real slick. And I had fun portraying him.”
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Mekhi Phifer also starred in the 2002 cult classic Paid In Full with Cam’Ron, and unlike 8 Mile, there were talks of a sequel in 2020. Cam confirmed on Instagram that conversations were being had at the time, but earlier this year, Dame Dash said not to expect any of the original cast in Paid In Full 2.
“They’re too old,” Dame, who produced the film, said on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast in March. “They’re all 50 now. We’re going to make Cocoon: Paid In Full? It’ll be what? Paid In Full: Nursing Home? They’re too old to play young characters.”
He still plans to film a sequel, however, this time telling the story of Harlem’s relationship with hustling in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
