As far as his acting goes, actor and artist Ice Cube is best known for his role in the iconic Friday series of comedy films. According to him, he’d love to somehow get the rights to the film franchise but won’t be looking at suing to do so.
Ice Cube — who co-wrote the films alongside starring in them — spoke to TMZ Hip Hop recently about his history of trying to obtain the rights to the Friday franchise. The actor was asked about the possibility of obtaining the rights or doing a spin-off film, to which Cube laughed and said that not only does Warner Bros. own the rights to the actual film, but they also own the rights to the names of the characters, making things even harder.
“You got to use the same [intellectual property],” Cube said. “Can’t call it Saturday without using Craig and Day-Day. So it’s the same thing really.” However, when asked whether he would ever sue Warner Bros. to try and get the rights to the film, Ice Cube was firm in his answer that he wouldn’t, saying “No, I ain’t gonna sue nobody.”
Cube’s history of trying to obtain the rights to the Friday franchise is a long one, and has stretched across years now. During a taping of Drink Champs at the Rock The Bells festival this past October, Cube mentioned that he had actually presented two scripts to Warner Bros. for a potential new film, but both were rejected.
“I’m trying to get it out of Warner Brothers, they don’t believe in the culture, man,” Cube said (via HipHopDX). “I had two scripts. I wrote one; it was the s—. They was like, ‘Yo, we don’t want Craig and Day-Day in jail, ’cause Craig and Day-Day went to jail for selling weed before it was legal!”
The Friday franchise debuted in 1995 with Friday, which starred Ice Cube alongside Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tiny “Zeus” Lister Jr., Regina King, and more. The film became a sleeper hit following its launch, earning a surprising amount at the box office and obtaining a huge cult following thanks to the internet and pop culture at large. The film series has seen two sequels since, with 2000’s Next Friday and 2002’s Friday After Next releasing in the years since the first film.
