New Line Cinema is moving forward with Last Friday, the first theatrical entry in the Friday franchise in 25 years, with Lawrence Lamont set to direct and Ice Cube returning to write, produce and star. The project secures $11.4 million in California production incentives for a 40-day shoot in Southern California.
The Franchise By The Numbers
The original Friday arrived in 1995, directed by F. Gary Gray from a script by Ice Cube and DJ Pooh. Made on a modest budget, it became a cult hit and launched two sequels: Next Friday in 2000 and Friday After Next in 2002. Ice Cube wrote the sequels solo and starred in all three theatrical films alongside John Witherspoon, the only two actors to appear in every installment. An animated spin-off, Friday: The Animated Series, debuted on MTV2 in 2007 and ran for eight episodes. The franchise has grossed consistently at the box office, establishing a durable IP library for Warner Bros. Discovery’s New Line label.
Incentive Math And Production Scale
California’s film incentive program awarded the production $11.4 million to keep shooting in-state, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The grant supports a plan for 40 filming days, 43 cast members and a crew of 150. The bottom line for the studio is a controlled cost structure on a known brand; the figure that matters is the qualified spend threshold required to unlock the credit, which effectively lowers the net negative cost of the picture. Investors will note that the first film’s sleeper success was built on a tight budget and single-location shooting, a model the incentive helps replicate at 2024 price levels.
Lamont’s Track Record And The Buddy Comedy Pivot
Lamont enters the franchise after a commercial breakthrough with One of Them Days, a $14 million TriStar Pictures buddy comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA. That film grossed more than $51 million worldwide and hit No. 1 on Netflix for four straight weeks, per The Hollywood Reporter. Lamont earned an AAFCA Breakthrough Director Award and an NAACP Image Award nomination for outstanding directing. Before features, he directed music videos for Big Sean, J. Cole, Snoop Dogg and Nas, winning an MTV Video Music Award for the video “Light.” His background suggests a fluency with contemporary Los Angeles culture and the two-hander structure that defined the original Friday.
Updating The South Central Formula
The original films centered on Craig Jones and Smokey navigating job loss, neighborhood bullies, family dynamics and a drug debt over a single day in South Central Los Angeles. The new script, written by Ice Cube, aims to update the premise for a modern audience while keeping the core buddy-comedy structure, according to the studio. Lamont’s debut feature centered on two female friends in a glamorous Los Angeles setting, indicating a tonal awareness of how the city’s demographics and cultural signifiers have shifted since 1995. The challenge is adapting the stoner comedy framework without relying on dated tropes, particularly as cannabis legalization has normalized the subculture that once drove the franchise’s transgressive edge.
CubeVision And The Creative Chain Of Command
Ice Cube produces through his CubeVision banner alongside Michael Gruber, with Bob Teitel also producing. CubeVision produced the previous two sequels, giving the entity institutional memory of the franchise’s production logistics. Cube’s dual role as writer and star concentrates creative authority, a structure that historically preserved the series’ voice across the first three films. With John Witherspoon’s passing in 2019, the new film loses the paternal anchor of the original trilogy, placing more narrative weight on Cube’s Craig Jones and whatever new counterpart the script introduces. The production timeline positions Last Friday as a test case for legacy comedy revivals: whether a 25-year gap can be bridged by updating setting and stakes rather than simply recycling catchphrases.
The Streaming Landscape And Legacy Sequels
Ice Cube has previously expressed interest in moving the franchise to streaming platforms, noting that the original film’s cult status translates well to on-demand viewing habits. According to industry reports, the 25-year gap represents the longest interval between sequels in the series, surpassing the five-year intervals between the original theatrical releases. The previous sequels, Next Friday and Friday After Next, both performed strongly in the DVD rental market before streaming became dominant, suggesting a built-in audience eager for new content. Lamont’s experience directing One of Them Days for TriStar, which found its primary audience on Netflix after a theatrical run, indicates that Last Friday could follow a similar trajectory, premiering in theaters before becoming a staple of the streaming library.
Franchise revivals often face the challenge of recapturing the cultural moment that made the original a hit, but the Friday series has a unique advantage: its setting in South Central Los Angeles remains instantly recognizable two decades later. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Ice Cube’s CubeVision banner, which produced the earlier sequels, is handling production, ensuring continuity with the franchise’s established visual style. With John Witherspoon’s passing in 2019, the new film will need to address the absence of his iconic character Paul, potentially passing the torch to a new generation of characters while maintaining the buddy-comedy dynamic that defined Craig Jones’ journey from 1995 to 2002.
Deebo’s Return And The Animated Legacy
The reboot plan includes the return of Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr. as Deebo, the hulking neighborhood bully who was a central antagonist in the 1995 original. Deebo was previously imprisoned for four years after being beaten by Craig Jones and has since returned with his little brother Tyrone, played by Sticky Fingaz, seeking revenge. This dynamic offers a built-in narrative engine that does not require creating entirely new villains, allowing the script to focus on re-establishing the neighborhood hierarchy established in the first film.
Beyond live-action actors, the project acknowledges the existence of Friday: The Animated Series, which debuted on MTV2 in 2007 and ran for eight episodes. While the source notes that an animated spin-off existed during the franchise’s peak popularity, the current development focuses on bridging the 25-year gap between theatrical installments. The inclusion of Lister Jr. ensures continuity with the physical comedy style that defined the original trilogy, particularly his memorable interactions with Craig and Smokey.
The source confirms that Ice Cube wrote the sequels solo after co-writing the first film with DJ Pooh, establishing a specific authorial voice for the later entries. By having Cube write Last Friday again, the production aims to maintain this consistent tonal approach while updating the stoner comedy framework for modern sensibilities. The presence of Lister Jr. and the animated series history demonstrates that the franchise has a rich visual and character library beyond just the original 1995 film.
Sources
- Friday (franchise)
- Friday the 13th Movies in Order: The Full Release Guide
- ‘One of Them Days’ Filmmaker Lawrence Lamont to Direct Ice Cube’s Newest ‘Friday’ Comedy (Exclusive)
Photo: Helena Lopes / Unsplash (Unsplash License)
