Lawrence Lamont, who directed last year’s One of Them Days, has been tapped to direct Last Friday, the first new installment of New Line’s Friday franchise in 25 years, The Hollywood Reporter reports exclusively. Ice Cube wrote the script and will produce and star, alongside producers Bob Teitel and CubeVision’s Michael Gruber, with Jeff Kwatinetz executive producing.
The original Friday, directed by F. Gary Gray and released in 1995, starred Cube as Craig Jones and Chris Tucker as Smokey, following the pair through a single chaotic day in South Central Los Angeles. Cube co-wrote the script with DJ Pooh, and the film became a cult hit, spawning Next Friday in 2000 and Friday After Next in 2002, both of which Cube wrote solo and starred in, though Tucker didn’t return after the first film. Last Friday will shoot in Southern California as part of the state’s production incentive program, with New Line receiving $11.4 million in incentives for a planned 40-day shoot involving 43 cast members and 150 crew.
As previously reported, the fourth film is building out a cast that bridges the original trilogy with new additions. Nia Long, who played Debbie in the original film, has teased a potential return, telling Variety that Cube is “about to send us all a new script.” Kym Whitley, who played Auntie Suga in Next Friday, has already confirmed her involvement. The writers’ room includes Cube, Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder, and original Friday co-writer DJ Pooh, with Chris Tucker reportedly in talks to return as Smokey after sitting out the last two films; both Cube and Mike Epps have said those conversations are ongoing and sound promising. Craig and Day-Day are confirmed to return, with the plot centering on the gentrification of their neighborhood, and Cube has said he’s pushing for an April 2027 release.
Lamont’s casting for Last Friday reflects New Line’s pick of a filmmaker whose own debut shares real DNA with the franchise he’s now stepping into: One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA, was itself a buddy comedy set against a vividly rendered L.A. backdrop, grossing more than $51 million on a $14 million budget and later holding Netflix’s No. 1 spot for four consecutive weeks. That film earned Lamont the AAFCA Breakthrough Director Award and an NAACP Image Award nomination. Before moving into film, Lamont built his reputation directing music videos for Big Sean, J. Cole, Jhené Aiko, Snoop Dogg, and Nas, winning an MTV Video Music Award for Big Sean’s “Light” and earning a nomination for “I Don’t Fuck With You.”
With a 25-year-old franchise now handed to a director whose breakout film already proved he can translate that same neighborhood-specific comedic chemistry to a new generation, the real anticipation builds around how closely Last Friday leans into nostalgia versus how much of its own identity Lamont brings to a story explicitly built around his neighborhood changing.