Ice Cube and Mike Epps Confirm ‘Last Friday’ Movie

Fans of the iconic “Friday” franchise finally received the news they have waited years to hear. Ice Cube and Mike Epps confirmed that “Last Friday,” the fourth installment in the comedy series, has officially entered development and will begin filming later this year.

The actors shared the update during a recent appearance on “Entertainment Tonight,” where Epps told viewers that the project was “going down.” Ice Cube also expressed confidence about the movie’s future after years of delays and studio setbacks.

The upcoming film plans to focus on gentrification in the neighborhood that longtime fans first visited in the original 1995 movie. Ice Cube and Epps said the story will explore how the community has changed over the last three decades while keeping the humor and energy that made the franchise a cultural phenomenon.

Many fans immediately asked whether Chris Tucker would return as Smokey, the character who helped launch the original film into pop culture history. Epps revealed that producers currently hold active discussions with Tucker and said the actor wants to rejoin the franchise. Ice Cube praised Tucker’s talent and predicted that the reunion could happen.

The road to “Last Friday” has stretched across nearly a decade of rumors, script rewrites, and public disagreements with studios. Ice Cube previously accused Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema of delaying the project after executives rejected earlier scripts. In 2024, he announced that the sequel had finally gained momentum.

The “Friday” franchise began in 1995 and later expanded with “Next Friday” in 2000 and “Friday After Next” in 2002. The films helped launch major comedy careers for Chris Tucker, Mike Epps, and the late Bernie Mac and John Witherspoon.