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Eve, Ice Cube, Malcolm D Lee, Barbershop 3

It’s almost here. After 10 years, the third installment in the Barbershop franchise is hitting the big screen. And yes, the whole gang is back for Barbershop: The Next Cut.

Global Grind went down to Atlanta to visit the set and found out a lot about the new film. Upon arrival, we quickly realized we entered into a family environment; it was warm and familiar. We got the feeling you get when you embrace your uncle at the family reunion after you haven’t seen him outside of a Facebook post in years.

Eve, Ice Cube, Malcolm D Lee, Barbershop 3

The jokes were flowing, and you couldn’t tell if people were actually working or just catching up with old friends – mainly because everyone actually cares about their characters. It’s one of the reasons why Cedric The Entertainer returned to the film.

“My biggest thing was that (his character) Eddy’s already old. As long as he don’t die in the movie! Don’t make me die! If I die, then I ain’t comin’!,” he joked. “I think that was the key thing for me, and of course, having the strong cast come back. Once we knew everybody was back in and engaged with it.”

Ced enjoyed giving his input on how his character has grown over the past decade:

“I was really involved early. I was able to get my notes in – they respected that. We all having a great time. It’s wonderful. People are going to enjoy it.”

Cedric talked about not doing another Barbershop for the sake of it, but rather having a real story behind the motivation to do a third one. Eve felt the same way:

“I was like nah!! Then I was like, I remembered how much fun we had, and how we got so close and I remembered what it was like being on set and making the movie happen and once I read the script I was like, I can’t wait to do it.”

Her character is more mature and lot more laid back – but still all about her apple juice, telling us, “We couldn’t just let [that joke] slide.”

As for her character Terri, “She’s married, she has a kid, she’s calmer than she’s ever been. You only see her flip one time, but she’s pretty chill. She’s a lot more grown up and a lot more mature.”

Eve, Ice Cube, Malcolm D Lee, Barbershop 3

Also back is Regina Hall, who plays Angie. She told us about how she pulled from her real life hair appointments to shape her character’s growth over the last 10 years:

“I have a couple of people that I drew from for my character Angie, like some stylists that I have heard say random things. When you work in a shop I’ve noticed your customers are regulars, so you find out so much info about your clients. It’s like you’re friends but not really, so they can tell you stuff that they might not tell their real friends.

“I was actually getting my hair done and the girl doing my hair said, ‘You remember the one who paid me to pee on him,’ but she wasn’t talking to me. She was talking to someone else, so they knew who she was talking about. I still don’t know the guy, but just the little gems that they say.”

New to the film is Common, who plays Rashad. He brings a voice of reason to the community as they deal with gun violence – a topic that hit close to home for the Chicago native.

“What’s going on with the violence in Chicago and knowing that some of this story is surrounding that topic, and in the same token, I was dealing with fatherhood. For me as an actor, and as a person, I wanted to do something fun,” said Common. “I always think about being a diverse actor. Nobody probably expected me to just step in Barbershop, but it’s a franchise that has cultural relevance. I like the direction that they were going with – from the director to the writers and then some of the added cast.”

Eve, Ice Cube, Malcolm D Lee, Barbershop 3

Common also opened up about being able to play a caring man who other men can respect because he takes care of his family, and says being able to walk into the barbershop and have real conversations about real issues is what drew him to the role.

“I was talking to a guy who works on my social media and he said to me some words about the South Carolina shooting and he said something about how people thought that when Obama got into office, that racism was over.

“I was like bro, you know my character just said that two days ago in the film. So my character gets to come in and express some real views of real people that share that perspective.”

Now, that’s real. Barbershop: The Next Cut is everywhere in theaters April 15.

PHOTO CREDIT: Warner Bros

SEE ALSO: The Next Cut: The Hair Evolution Of Eve 

‘Barbershop: The Next Cut’ – Here’s How Your Favorite Characters Have Grown In 10 Years  was originally published on globalgrind.com