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Ice Cube recently revealed that Chris Tucker turned down the Friday sequel due to “religious reasons” despite being offered $10-12 million to star in the film.
The comedy-drama was deemed a blockbuster when it first hit screens in 1995. Ice Cube and Tucker also won millions of hearts with their portrayal of Chris Jones and Smokey, respectively.
However, fans were left upset when the Rush Hour star did not join the remaining cast for the subsequent Friday films, Next Friday (2000) and Friday After Next (2002).
Nearly two decades later, Ice Cube, who also served as the producer of the movie, replied to a fan tweet saying Tucker did not reprise his role due to his issues with the content assigned to his character as per the demand of the script.
What did Chris Tucker say about turning down ‘Friday’ sequels?
Chris Tucker left fans stunned when he turned down the offer to reprise his iconic role as Smokey in the Friday sequels. Last month, the actor-comedian opened up about his decision while speaking to All Urban Central:
“Back then, I gotta tell you, one of the reasons why I didn’t do the second one was because of the weed.”
The Fifth Element star confirmed that he did not want to represent a character primarily dealing with substances:
“Because I said, man, that movie became a phenomenon. I don’t want everybody smoking weed — and I never really told people this because I kind of forgot about it, but it was one of the reasons why I didn’t do it. Because I said, ‘I don’t wanna represent everybody smoking weed.'”
The stand-up comedian also revealed that he never planned to be a part of Friday sequels and preferred choosing newer roles instead:
“It probably was good for me because it kept me moving to the next phase and next movies. I never thought about doing sequels. I always wanted to do a good job and keep moving to the next movie."
Chris Tucker also mentioned that he might consider a role if a fourth Friday sequel offers him a “great script” in the future:
"I always said — because I know my fans love the movies so much [and] they always bring it up — I said, well, if they come to me with a great script and a great idea, I'd definitely consider it. But it's been so long ago and that character became such a great character. I don't wanna mess it up."
Although Tucker’s comment partly aligns with Ice Cube’s latest revelation, the actor did not mention his religion while speaking about Friday sequels in the past. It remains to be seen if he will respond to Cube’s tweet in the days to come.
Chris Tucker’s faith and religion explored
Chris Tucker was born into a Christian family and reportedly grew up in a Pentecostal Christian household. His parents, Mary Louise and Norris Tucker, were members of the Church of God in Christ.
The Atlanta-native moved to Los Angeles to establish a career in comedy and went on to become one of the highest paid actor-comedians in Hollywood. He gained immense recognition for appearing in films like The Fifth Element, Friday, Money Talks, Jackie Brown and the Rush Hour franchise, among others.
However, the course of his career took a different turn after he reportedly rediscovered the Christian faith in late 1990s. Unlike his contemporaries, Chris Tucker often avoided controversial elements in his jokes.
During a 2014 interview with Straight, the actor revealed that Christianity helps him with his comedy:
“Being a Christian helps me in comedy. I have to talk about other stuff. Normally, most comics talk about stuff that’s easy—maybe cussing or saying something raunchy. I have to dig deeper to find something that’s still funny and not raunchy. It’s harder. I like the challenge.”
In a 2020 YouTube documentary created by Comedy Hybe, comedy analyst Rex Garvin claimed Tucker turned down roles in films like Any Given Sunday, Black Knight, and Django Unchained for the misalignment of the content with his beliefs:
“He had what you call a Christian comedy crash without letting it flow automatically. Once you step in that next level, no one can train you for that, no one can prepare you for that, you’re on your own and what happens when you cross that line into show business, you go into a whole other world that you cannot predict.”
Chris Tucker has only appeared in a few selective films since 2000. However, he made frequent stage appearances for his live performances. He also starred in the Netflix comedy special, Chris Tucker: Live in 2015.
The comedian did not address topics related to his faith during the special but talked about attending church. He reportedly planned to organize a comedy tour in 2020 but could not discuss further details due to the pandemic.
