‘Friday 4’ Gets Major Update as Ice Cube Taps Lawrence Lamont to Direct ‘Last Friday'
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A fourth Friday film has spent years caught between audience demand and Hollywood’s notoriously slippery development process. The last time Craig Jones and his crew occupied the big screen was 2002. And while Ice Cube has continued pushing the project through stalled plans and changing studio priorities, fans have had little concrete progress to measure.
Now, the long-running wait has a fresh reason to pay attention with none other than Lawrence Lamont taking the reins to the fourth Friday.
Ice Cube's Last Friday finally finds its director
Lawrence Lamont will direct Last Friday, the fourth film in the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Lamont most recently directed One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA, which Ice Cube produced. The new film marks the franchise’s first instalment since Friday After Next arrived in 2002, with Cube returning to write, star and produce.
DJ Pooh, who co-created the original film with Cube, is involved in the project, while The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder is co-writing the screenplay with Cube, as per THR. The film has received a California production tax credit, and Cube has said the production will remain in Southern California, employing more than 180 local cast and crew members. Plot specifics and a release date remain unannounced, making the director appointment the clearest sign yet that the sequel is advancing.
Lamont’s appointment connects the franchise’s legacy to a newer comedy voice, but its identity was established long before this reunion.
A Friday that never really ended
The original Friday (1995), directed by F. Gary Gray, followed Craig and Smokey through a chaotic day in South Central after a debt and a neighborhood bully turned ordinary errands into trouble. Its humor came from familiar pressures and sharply drawn personalities. Next Friday (2000) moved Craig to the suburbs, while Friday After Next (2002) brought Christmas chaos and a thief into the mix.
Across the trilogy, the comedy stays rooted in friendship, neighborhood life and the absurdity of making it through a day that keeps getting worse. It is a space where Cube’s creative work extends beyond music into screenwriting, acting, producing and comic books, thriving regardless of his Razzie wins.
Last Friday now has to return to a comedy whose characters have outlasted its release schedule. With Lawrence Lamont directing and Cube central to the writing and performance, the fourth film has a filmmaker ready to carry its familiar sensibility forward, while South Los Angeles remains part of its foundation.
Are you excited to finally watch the fourth Friday movie? Let us know in the comments.
Edited By: Hriddhi Maitra
