Ice Cube has admitted that he didn’t originally plan on making a sequel to his classic movie Friday and needed a bit of persuading to turn the film into a franchise.
In an interview with LeBron James’ longtime business partner Maverick Carter, the N.W.A legend discussed the pressure to shoot the 2000 sequel Next Friday, which he says was a financial decision rather than a creative one.
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“I always thought we did a great movie, don’t touch it,” he said in regards to the 1995 original. “My people were like, ‘Have you ever thought of doing a part two?’”
Cube explained that he had never thought of it, but he reconsidered when he realized how much people loved the stoner classic.
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Despite his initial hesitancy, Cube said he’s “grateful” he pursued the sequel: “I’m glad I did it because part two led to part three. It led to me meeting Mike Epps and Katt Williams, Terry Cruise.”
Carter then asked Cube if he would have still made Next Friday on his own accord, to which the rapper admitted that he probably wouldn’t have, especially because his Friday co-star Chris Tucker wasn’t interested in a second film.
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“By the time I heard he didn’t want to do it, I was invested in doing another one. We figured out the best way to keep going,” he concluded.
Check out the segment at the 17:22 mark below.
While Ice Cube’s team was clamoring for more Friday films in the 1990s, Mike Epps recently took to social media in hopes of reuniting the gang for another film.
Epps — who starred in the sequels Next Friday and Friday After Next — took to social media earlier in January to try to persuade Cube to get going on another installment in the beloved series.
“I know what the problem is we all need another FRIDAY,” the actor/comedian wrote underneath a photo of Cube, Terry Crews and himself in Friday After Next. “put everybody in the movie all of us may the best win on screen.”
He added: “Fuck all the internet shit forget the money forget the status forget [Hollywood] let’s go big bro @icecube make history.”
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Mike Epps’ suggestion garnered widespread support from his peers, with notable endorsements from Killer Mike, Key Glock, Tracy McGrady, and others.
“World’ll Go Crazy!!!!!!!!!!” Mike commented on the post, while former NBA star McGrady added: “I promise that’s setting all records [fire emoji] That’ll change more lives than you could imagine in the black community.”
