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Ice Cube remains a busy man, as the rapper-turned-actor continues to land various roles. While the cool celebrity dad has been exploring new storytelling territory for himself, he’s also revisited some of his most beloved properties. Most recently, he even appeared as himself in the 2025 Anaconda movie. Despite all of that, I definitely couldn’t have predicted that he’d join a third Are We There Yet? movie, though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t laughing over one part of the premise.
This week, Cube announced that he would reprise his role as bachelor-turned-family man Nick Persons in Are They Gone Yet? Not only that, but the star will be joined by Nia Long, who’s set to reprise her role as Nick’s wife, Suzanne Kingston-Persons. Deadline’s reporting doesn’t specify whether Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden will reprise their roles as Suzanne’s kids, Lindsey and Kevin, respectively. Yet, per Cube’s statement, I think there’s at least a slight chance his stepkids will factor into the story:
We built something special with this franchise. Audiences grew up with Nick Persons, and now Nick’s got grandkids. Time flies. Partnering with Skydance to bring this story to a new generation is exactly the kind of move CubeVision was built for, and I am excited for the new partnership.
You read that right, Nick is going to be a grandfather! So, barring any kind of surprises, said kids could belong to Lindsey, Kevin or the two twins Suzanne welcomed in 2007’s Are We Done Yet? To some, this may seem like too much of an obvious route to go with the franchise, but the mere thought of Nick being in grandpa mode and having to deal with his grandkids’ shenanigans just makes me chuckle. There are plenty of storytelling possibilities in that regard, and Cube could bring some serious comedic energy to the proceedings.
I honestly love the fact that the Three Kings alum has reached the age at which he can convincingly play a grandfather. So, even with just this small tease, I’m delighted to see how the story pans out. And, speaking of the story, the script is reportedly being penned by Chris Hazzard and Mike Fontana, and the film is being developed by Skydance Sports. On paper, this threequel also makes sense, considering the original 2005 film earned over $97 million worldwide against a production budget between $20 and 32 million. And, while the aforementioned 2007 sequel only grossed $58 million globally against a $28 million budget, the IP still proved popular enough to spawn a TV series on TBS.
This announcement comes amid the continued wave of legacy sequels that continue to flood Hollywood. Ice Cube, for his part, is reportedly working on multiple installments to some of his most famous franchises. For starters, the long-gestating final installment in the Friday franchise, Last Friday, is officially in the works, with Cube and Mike Epps reportedly returning for it. It was also more recently reported that Cube was in talks to reunite with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum for 24 Jump Street.
When it comes to Are They Gone Yet?, a release window has yet to be announced for it. Hopefully, additional details – like further casting confirmations – will arrive sooner rather than later. I can’t even begin to predict how this film will be received but, considering the love for this franchise, I can certainly imagine people checking it out. I look forward to seeing the first official look at Nick running from… I mean, playing with his grandchildren.
Ice Cube doesn’t currently have any titles marked for the 2026 movie schedule. Still, anyone feeling nostalgic for the Are We There Yet? franchise can stream the first two installments using Starz.
