Lawrence Lamont Tapped to Direct Ice Cube's Last Friday
Lawrence Lamont has been tapped to direct Last Friday, the first film in New Line's Friday franchise in 25 years, The Hollywood Reporter reported on 27 October 2026.
Ice Cube is writing the script, producing, and will star in the feature. Bob Teitel and CubeVision's Michael Gruber are producing alongside him, and Jeff Kwatinetz is executive producing. The team is building a new entry in a series that has been quiet for a long time.
The franchise began in 1995 with Friday, directed by F. Gary Gray. Ice Cube co-wrote that original with DJ Pooh and starred opposite Chris Tucker. Two sequels followed, Next Friday in 2000 and Friday After Next in 2002. Ice Cube wrote all three films on his own and starred in each one. Tucker appeared only in the first. A cartoon spin-off, Friday: The Animated Series, also aired briefly on MTV2.
The new film will be shot in Southern California under the California production incentive program, a state scheme that offers money to productions that film there. New Line received $11.4 million to shoot Last Friday in the state. The plan calls for 40 filming days, with 43 cast members and around 150 crew.
Lamont is no stranger to a set of his own. He made his directing debut with One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA. That film was a $14 million TriStar Pictures release that grossed more than $51 million worldwide. It also spent four straight weeks at No. 1 on Netflix, the streaming service. For the work, Lamont received the AAFCA Breakthrough Director Award and a nomination for outstanding directing in a motion picture at the NAACP Image Awards.
He is represented by WME, ColorCreative and Johnson Shapiro. Representation means agents and managers who negotiate jobs on a director's behalf.
For longtime fans, the news links a new film to a franchise that has mostly lived in memory and on rental shelves. The original Friday still gets quoted at parties, and the new project brings Ice Cube back to both the pen and the camera. Who else joins the cast, and when the film reaches cinemas, has not been announced.
