‘Stop Asking’: Vivica A. Fox Sets the Record Straight Once and for All About Why ‘Set It Off’ Sequel Won’t Happen
Veteran actress Vivica A. Fox, 61, is dashing the hopes of any movie buffs hoping for another installment to the era-defining “Set It Off” motion picture featuring four leading women.
Fox starred in the F. Gary Gray-directed “Set It Off” alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, and Kimberly Elise. The 1996 action drama built a cult following, with many fans calling for a sequel to be made.
Gray chose Foxx to portray Los Angeles-based bank teller Francesca “Frankie” Sutton in the heist flick. Frankie’s partners in crime Lida “Stony” Newsome was played by Pinkett, Cleopatra “Cleo” Sims was played by Latifah, and Tisean “T.T.” Williams was played by Elise.
A recent episode of the “Legacy Talk” podcast with “The Chi” television series creator Lena Waithe featured a conversation with Fox. At one point, Waithe spoke about her appreciation for “Set It Off” and the film’s cast.
Fox also recalled how Gray visited her on the set of 1996’s “Independence Day” and asked her to audition for “Set It Off.” Her “Independence Day” co-star, Will Smith, then helped Fox prepare for the potential role. Smith went on to marry Pinkett in 1997.
“Awesome,” Fox answered when Waithe asked about her experience working with Pinkett, Latifah, and Elise. “A sisterhood I will never forget. We made a classic, and I’m so very proud of that.”
Waithe later asked about a particular scene when Fox’s character tried to cut Jada’s character out of the money pit. “I was jealous of her,” Fox admitted. “She had messed around with my guy, that’s why I was so jealous of her.
After reflecting on her past, she shut down fans’ requests for a sequel. “And I wish people would quit saying, ‘Make a sequel.’ We dead! The only one alive is Jada y’all!”
“She jealous?” said one person in the Shade Room’s comments. Another said, “Wait.. did we miss that.. when they say TeTe was messing with Frankie man tho?!?!”
A third said, “Riiiight! Embrace the classic!!! Write something new! Set it off don’t need nothing but to be left alone.”
While a “Set It Off” sequel with the original foursome appears to be a pipe dream due to three of the main characters not surviving the first film, an Issa Rae-produced reboot has been in the works. Syreeta Singleton was attached to the project as a writer.
“It’s going to be a good one. It’s something that we were very careful about, because it’s ‘Set It Off,’ and we want to make sure we do it right. I feel like it’s a story that people are going to be really, really excited about,” Singleton told The Wrap in February 2025.
Fox was outspokenly against a reimagined version of “Set It Off” being released in theaters. In 2019, the former “Empire” supporting cast member shared her thoughts on Rae attempting to recreate Gray’s crime movie.
“Leave it alone, there’s absolutely no reason to try to re-do it,” Fox said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “It’s been done, and we did it so well that people are absolutely going to compare it to that and I think that’s her taking on a tremendous chore because that film has become a cult classic and some things are just better left [alone].”
Pinkett Smith had similar takes to Fox about possibly coming back for a second “Set It Off” and the news that Rae is rebooting the crime drama in the 21st century. The Daytime Emmy Award winner shut down both ideas in 2019.
“Absolutely not. I don’t know why people keep thinking that,” Pinkett Smith made clear when questioned by Where Is The Buzz on if theatergoers will ever get a “Set It Off” sequel. The interview took place on the red carpet for the “Angel Has Fallen” premiere.
She resumed, “I know what we want, the original cast. So whether they decide to do an extension of it in some way, recast it in some way, I personally think that’s just something you leave alone. It’s a classic, it’s done.”
New Line Cinema’s “Set It Off” grossed $36 million at the domestic box office. Both Pinkett and Latifah earned Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture nominations at the 1997 NAACP Image Awards.