Ice Cube Talks New 'TMNT' Film, Shares Update on 'Friday' and 'Ride Along' Sequels (Exclusive)
After a string of live-action movies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back to being animated in the latest feature film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, with Ice Cube as one of the many A-list stars lending his voice to the cast.
While speaking to ET's Will Marfuggi about the upcoming theatrical release, the 54-year-old performer opens up about his friendship with co-writer, co-director and co-executive producer Seth Rogen and shares an update on the status of the long-awaited sequels in the Friday and Ride Along film franchises.
In the latest installment in the TNMT movie franchise, Cube voices the villain, Superfly, a mutant fly who wants all mutants to have dominance over humans. And for the performer, it was exactly the kind of character he likes to play.
"You want to do characters that make an impact," he says. "So, to be Superfly, the supervillain with a heart, looking for love [and] looking for friends, the complexity of the role was just right up my alley."
Encouraged to ad lib in the recording booth, Cube says he had fun adding more to the performance -- and adding a bit of comedy and authenticity to the role. "He's the kingpin of New York," he says, noting "you could do no wrong" while bringing the character to life.
'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' Trailer No. 2
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'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' Trailer No. 2
Lending his voice to the film also meant getting to work alongside Rogen, whom he considers a longtime friend. "We've been cool for a while," the performer says, joking that there's "a lot of weed in the air" when they do get to hang out in person.
"But, it's fun. He's a creative guy that I've been wanting to work with this close for a while," Cube says, noting that his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., "got a chance to work with him in Long Shot," the 2019 rom-com also starring Charlize Theron.
Cube adds that when it comes to having Rogen helming the project alongside Brendan O'Brien, Evan Goldberg and Jeff Rowe, they had a "fun dude" at the reins. "He knows pop culture and he's just smart, you know," he says. "His style of comedy is unique and he finds the nuances that most people overlook."
He adds, "We've been trying to do a movie… And, you know, fortunately this is the first one. But we're going to do more."
In addition to more films with Rogen, Cube has also been working on more sequels to the Friday and Ride Along film franchises. The latter, which was co-written by and starring Cube, first became a hit in 1995 before spawning Next Friday (2000) and Friday After Next (2002) with a third sequel, reportedly called Last Friday, long in the works.
"I'm in a situation [of] trying to get control of the movie where I can do it the way I want to do it when I want to do it," Cube says, adding, "You know, that's been a task."
As for Ride Along, the hit buddy cop action-comedy starring Cube and Kevin Hart first came out in 2014. It was followed up by Ride Along 2 in 2016, with the sequel also a big hit at the box office.
"We've been talking a little on Ride Along 3," Cube says, revealing that "we haven't locked in on the right concept and the right place to take the franchise. We don't want to just do it just to do it."
He adds, "We need to do it and it needs to be, you know, a standalone movie that works. We're going to work it out. Kevin Hart, you know, he's hard to find too."
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem debuts in theaters on Aug. 2.
This interview was conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, which began on July 13, 2023.
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