Ice Cube has recently parted ways with the production of Sony’s Oh Hell No comedy, in which the actor would have starred alongside Jack Black. Ice Cube turned down what would have been a $9 million payday after producers requested that he get vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus.
Bad Trip director Kitao Sakurai is helming the film based on a script written by Scot Armstrong, Jessica Gao, and Tracy Oliver. Cube joined the project back in June with plans to shoot this winter in Hawaii. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the search for Cube’s replacement is already underway.
Ice Cube exiting Oh Hell No isn’t much of a surprise given that it’s the second project that he’s left in recent months. The other project that the rapper-actor turned down was a role in the boxing movie Flint Strong. No one knows why Cube walked away from the film, but some suspect it could have something to do with issues related to production delays.
What’s odd about Ice Cube exiting Oh Hell No is that he’s been rather vocal about mask-wearing throughout the pandemic. He even helped launch the “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self” campaign. The initiative includes the manufacturing of T-shirts featuring Cube all masked up. Meanwhile, the money made from the merch goes to benefit frontline workers. This situation is a bit of a head-scratcher if you ask me.
Vaccination for the COVID-19 virus has become a requirement across many film productions as the pandemic continues. Cast and crew work close to one another, and no one wants to be responsible for spreading the virus. Why you wouldn’t want to help keep your co-stars and crew safe is beyond my understanding, but I suppose Cube has his reasons. Either way, a cast slot is now open for Oh Hell No, so time will tell who fills it.