Ice Cube Hasn’t Acted in a Movie Since 2020 But What Is He Doing Next?
At first, Ice Cube might not have seemed like a movie star. But looking back on his career, his charisma as a rapper helped him seamlessly transition onto the big screen. Over the past 30 years, dozens of Ice Cube movies have hit the big screen, with many of them spawning franchises or otherwise turning tidy profits. But the actor has been absent from movies since 2020. So what does he have in the works next?
Ice Cube transitioned from music to movies in the early 1990s
Ice Cube’s film debut was 1991’s Boyz N the Hood. And in the early and mid-1990s, much of his career took place in the same general thematic headspace as that movie. Even 1995’s Friday — which Ice Cube starred in, co-wrote, and produced — was conceived of as a light-hearted counterpart to hyper-violent, dread-heavy movies like Boyz N the Hood. And much like Barbershop, Are We There Yet?, and Ride Along, it led to a franchise with Ice Cube in the lead.
The Oscar-nominated Straight Outta Compton — which Ice Cube produced — tells the story of how Ice Cube and company created the hip hop group N.W.A. And since that 2015 hit, Ice Cube has stayed mostly to his franchise roles. He returned for Ride Along 2, Barbershop: The Next Cut, and xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Beyond that, he starred opposite Charlie Day in 2017’s Fist Right and had a supporting role in the 2020 film The High Note.
The rapper-turned-actor has several projects in development
But what movies does Ice Cube have in the works next? According to his IMDb profile, the actor has a variety of projects in various stages of development. He’s set to appear in an adaptation of War of the Worlds from music video director Rich Lee as well as TV’s (R)evolution and the Barry Jenkins-written sports drama Flint Strong.
The upcoming comedy Accidentes follows two “ambulance-chasing lawyers” who must team up. And presumably, Ice Cube would play one of the leads in that film. Meanwhile, Ride Along 3 remains in development, with Kevin Hart back opposite Ice Cube. And the actor is even set to star in Humbug, a contemporary retelling of A Christmas Carol.
Some Ice Cube fans are still hoping for a fourth ‘Friday’ movie
One Ice Cube project many fans might be wondering about is Last Friday. For many years, the rapper/actor has discussed plans to reunite with original Friday co-star Chris Tucker one last time. But despite being in development, it’s unclear when or if fans will ever see the fourth and final film in the franchise.
At this point, Ice Cube fans might have better seeing him back in the Jump Street films. He played the boss of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s characters in those two movies. And with Variety reporting a female-led spin-off is in the works, perhaps Ice Cube’s character can reappear to create some continuity between all three films.
