Ever since Ice Cube and DJ Pooh created the “Friday” franchise, fans have been ada*ant about seeing another addition.
The last installment, Friday After Next, was released in 2002 and there had been talks for a fourth film, however, it seems fans will continue to be left ha-nging in the balance as the future of the film is uncertain.
Fans of the cu-lt classic were able to whet their appet!tes back in 2017 when the news of a fourth installment called Last Friday was on the way.
The late actor and comedian John Witherspoon, who played the role of Ice Cube’s father “Willie Jones”, confirmed in an interview with the “Get Up Crew” show on Orlando radio station Power 95.3 that Ice Cube had been working on the film’s script and that studio executives had given him the green light.
Witherspoon would then reunite with his co-star’s Cube and Mike Epps to shoot what many thoughts were scenes for the new film.
An Instagram video clip surfaced showcasing the three on set filming in what looked like the house from the movie, and social media went into a fre-nzy. However, it was revealed to be a commercial spot for the “Big 3, Week 2” games.
In 2019, it was revealed that the script was complete and they hoped to have it released on the original film’s 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, months later John Witherspoon passed away from a heart at*ack at his home, which also left the fa-te of his character unknown.
The state of the film’s release is still a hot topic, as Cube recently had an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers and the Meyers mentioned the anniversary of the film passing. Cube admitted the film was “ready to go” but the loss of Witherspoon threw them all back.
“We’re still gr!eving over the loss of such a talented, special man,” the rapper/actor said. “He wasn’t just funny.Everybody saw his funny side, but he was also a serious, thoughtful guy.”Ice Cube revealed that production on the film is on the back bu-rner, but that he is hopeful they will figure it out. “We feel like we all lost our pops, our grandpops, our uncle,” he said.
Before his passing, the Wayans Bros. actor revealed some sho-cking information when he revealed just how much he made while filming for the franchise. In a resurfaced interview that Witherspoon had with VladTV, the actor admitted that he earned $5,000 from a film that earned $30 million, as did the rest of the cast. “We got paid five thousand dollars apiece to do that movie,” he confessed. “Everybody else on that show, they gon’ say they made more money, but ain’t nobody made no money on that.”
It looked like things certainly paid off for the late actor, as he revealed his participation in the next film brought a bigger payday earning over $100,000. Finally, his involvement in the third installment allowed him to receive a payout closer to $1 million.
This Article First Published On ALLABOUTLAUGHS