While the financial success of “Ride Along” proved that comedian Kevin Hart can be a box office draw, it also seems to have provided a little boost towards Ice Cube’s career. MGM Studios have just announced that they will re-open the “Barbershop” for a third time with Cube signing on to reprise his role as Calvin Palmer in “Barbershop 3.” This announcement comes ten years after “Barbershop 2: Back in Business” was released and the studio hopes Cedric the Entertainer and Queen Latifah will also return to the franchise.
Both “Barbershop” movies were solid financial hits back in the day. The first film, which came out in 2002, made over $77 million on a $12 million budget; “Back in Business” made slightly less money ($65 million), but still managed to be a make more than double its budget ($30 million). The movies revolved around the adventures of Calvin Palmer and his crew of barbers who worked at a shop on the South Side of Chicago. The last time we heard from Calvin, his mom-and-pop shop was struggling to compete against the name-brand chains and gentrification that’s been running rampant in his neighborhood. Has he managed to keep his barbershop together ten years later? As no plot details have been released, we’ll just have to wait and see.
The franchise hasn’t been completely inactive since ‘Back in Business’ came out. In 2005, it was turned into a sitcom which lasted 10 episodes on the Showtime Network and starred Omar Gooding as Ice Cube’s character. Interestingly enough, the show was developed by “12 Years A Slave” screenwriter John Ridley, who just won an Oscar earlier this month, and he wrote the majority of the episodes. Whether or not he would want to be involved with the third “Barbershop” film, in any capacity, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, you can catch Ice Cube alongside Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in another sequel, “22 Jump Street,” which comes out in June. [Deadline]
