Ice Cube is calling out Warner Bros. for allegedly “hi-jacking” the Friday franchise.
The multi-hyphenate made the claim in a recent Instagram post that featured an illustration of the original cast. Ice Cube used the hashtag #FreeFriday before accusing the studio of refusing to green light additional sequels, which have been consistently teased over the decade.
“#Freefriday from the jaws of Warner Bros. who refuses to make more sequels,” Ice Cube wrote in the caption. “They have hi-jacked the happiness of the culture.”
The original Friday premiered in 1995, with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker leading the ensemble cast. The second installment, Next Friday, was released in 2000; and the third, Friday After Next, debuted just two years later.
During a 2019 appearance on ESPN’s The Jump, Ice Cube confirmed he and his team had completed the script for a fourth sequel titled Last Friday and that his goal was to release the film on the 25th anniversary of the original’s release.
“We are pushing for it, we finished the script, we are getting notes from the studio and it’s going back and forth,” Ice Cube said. “Get into pre-production and start hiring. It would be nice for this to come out on the 25th anniversary.”
Obviously, that plan never panned out, as Warner Bros. reportedly has no interest in expanding the beloved franchise.Sources tell TMZ that Ice Cube has become increasingly frustrated with the studio and is now wanting to produce more sequels with another company; However, he’s unable to do so as the studio reportedly refuses to release the rights to him.
Warner Bros. has yet to publicly respond to Ice Cube’s post.
