Lawrence Lamont is in talks to direct the next installment of Ice Cube's long-running "Friday" comedy series, according to exclusive reporting. Lamont, who drew widespread attention with the 2025 comedy "One of Them Days," would take the helm of a franchise that has been a staple of Hollywood comedy since the mid-1990s. Ice Cube is expected to reprise his role as Craig Jones, the character he originated in the 1995 original.
The first "Friday," released on April 26, 1995, was directed by F. Gary Gray and ran 91 minutes. Its story follows Craig and his friend Smokey as the pair spend a Friday afternoon on a Los Angeles porch, smoking and drinking while searching for something to do. The film blended broad comedy with dramatic undertones and carried a TMDb rating of 7.155 out of 10, a mark that has held strong across three decades.
"Friday" launched the screen careers of several performers and remains a reference point for a certain strain of Los Angeles-set comedy. Chris Tucker played Smokey opposite Ice Cube's Craig. Nia Long appeared as Debbie, and Tommy Lister Jr. played the neighborhood bully Deebo. John Witherspoon and Anna Maria Horsford played Mr. and Mrs. Jones, while Regina King and Paula Jai Parker rounded out the cast as Dana and Joi. F. Gary Gray's direction helped establish the film's unhurried, porch-bound rhythm, which later sequels sought to recapture.
A Franchise Built on a Single Afternoon
What made the original unusual was its narrow frame: a single afternoon, a single block, and very little plot beyond the characters' efforts to get through the day. That structure gave the film its comic texture and its dramatic edge, and it is the template any new director must work within. Lamont's hiring would signal that Ice Cube and his collaborators want a filmmaker who can balance humor with lived-in neighborhood detail, rather than simply repeating the beats of earlier sequels.
Lamont arrives with momentum. "One of Them Days" positioned him as a director attuned to comedy rooted in specific places and specific people, a profile that fits the "Friday" series better than most. The new film would mark his most prominent studio assignment to date and would place him at the center of a franchise with a devoted, multi-generational audience.
What the New Film Inherits
The "Friday" series has continued without its original director at the helm, with each entry reshaping the cast around Ice Cube's Craig. Details of the new film's story, supporting cast, and production timeline have not been disclosed. Reports of Lamont's involvement remain at the negotiation stage, and no release date has been set.
For Ice Cube, returning to the role is a homecoming. Craig was his breakout acting part, and the character has anchored every subsequent film in the series. The original earned its place in Hollywood comedy through its depiction of two friends with nothing to do and everything to talk about, a premise the franchise has returned to repeatedly. A new director with a recent comedy hit behind him suggests the next chapter will aim for the same mixture of humor and low-key drama that defined the 1995 release.
The original cast list reads today as a roster of performers who went on to define 1990s and 2000s comedy and drama. Long, King, and Parker built substantial careers after their supporting turns, and Witherspoon's Mr. Jones became one of the film's most quoted characters. Lister's Deebo turned a neighborhood antagonist into a pop-culture figure. Any new installment will be measured against those performances, and against Gray's original approach to the material.
For now, the project remains in early development, with Lamont's deal the first significant piece of news to emerge. USA Film News will follow the production as casting and scheduling details become available.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
