The Friday franchise is beloved by many people who have been dying for the series to get a proper conclusion. While various actors have spoken up over the years about their hopes for a Last Friday film, one person who’s been quiet has been Chris Tucker. Despite helping kick off the franchise with one of his most memorable performances, Tucker was absent from the second and third installments. According to DC YoungFly, Tucker might return for part four if he get one request granted.
Chris Tucker Only Made $10k In the First Friday.
The journey to get Friday made was a labor of love by all the parties involved. Ice Cube wanted to do the movie to change the perspective on South Central Los Angeles made by his past films (Boyz In Da Hood and Menace II Society) and show the funnier parts of the neighborhoods. At one point, he even offered to front his own money to get it produced, but eventually, Warner Bros decided to pay for the project.
Despiting getting WB on board, the cast and crew did not have a lot of money to play with since the total budget for Friday was only 2.3 million. Due to this, several cast members got very little pay to show up. Chris Tucker reportedly only pocketed $10k for his two weeks of shooting. Actor Faizon Love says he made $2500 for his 1 to 2 days of shooting. The late John Witherspoon went on record saying he made $5k for his role as pops in the first film. Terri J. Vaughn made significantly less, only $150 for the day. Friday would go on to gross $300 million at the box office and become a cult classic. As a result, Warner Bros was able to offer actors significantly more going into its sequels Next Friday and Friday After Next.
Next Friday and Friday After Next Did Not Include Chris Tucker
While many people had no issue reprising their roles in the following Friday films, Chris Tucker was not one of them. Tucker was reportedly offered $10-$12 million to return for Next Friday but turned it down. His reason has changed a lot over the years. Many reports state that Chris Tucker felt that the character of Smokey, a stoner, went against his religious beliefs.
Other feel that Tucker, the breakout star of Friday, felt too big to return to the movie and instead decided to pursue more mainstream properties. This decision led him to the Rush Hour film, which was such a huge success that Tucker was able to demand upwards of $25 million for each sequel that he did. With Smokey off the table, Ice Cube and his creative team developed the cousin character Daymond “Day-Day” Jones, played by Mike Epps in his debut role, to serve as the comic relief. The film was moved to the suburbs and introduced a host of other new characters, including Uncle Elroy, Pinky, Joker, Auntie Suga, Karla, and Michael Blackson’s unnamed store patron character.
The second film did well enough to earn them a part three, which also went on to introduce us to a host of iconic characters and actors. This included Katt William’s Money Mike, Rickey Smiley’s Robber Santa Claus, and Terry Crew’s Damon Pearly.
Will Chris Tucker Ever Do Another Friday Movie?
The idea of a Last Friday has been floating around for almost 20 years now, with Ice Cube stating in the past that he was hoping to have the final installment out by the original’s 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, Ice Cube claims that he and Warner Bros have not been able to agree on a script, and he’s even stated that he feels like they are discriminating against him since they’ve had a history of underfunding his films in the past.
Told y’all it’s coming… #Friday pic.twitter.com/p15BEBBnFn
— Ice Cube (@icecube) May 3, 2019
In addition to the studio disputes, several prominent actors have passed away since the last Friday film. This includes John Witherspoon, Tom Lister Jr, AJ Johnson, and Bernie Mac. Despite these losses, a lot of the main cast is still alive and active. While Ice Cube, Mike Epps, and others seem to be down to reprise their roles, many are wondering if Chris Tucker will also come back.
According to fellow comedian DC YoungFly, Chris Tucker promised to return to Friday if YoungFly was allowed to play his son in the film. “I ain’t supposed to say this,” Youngfly declared during a segment of Shannon Sharpe’s talk show. “Chris Tucker out his mouth, told me, literally, this year, if I play his son, he’ll be in the movie.”
Would you be here for a Last Friday with Chris Tucker and DC YoungFly appearing as father/son?
