Thirty-two years ago we let our soul glow, embraced Sexual Chocolate in their powder blue tuxedos and followed Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem as he searched for his future bride in 1988’s Coming to America.
The first look photos reveal that Akeem and Lisa (Shari Headley) are still together. The original cast—including James Earl Jones, Arsenio Hall, Garcelle Beauvais and Vanessa Bell Calloway—have reprised their roles for the Coming 2 America sequel, arriving this March on Amazon Prime Studios.
Headley feels “so blessed to have everyone together” again, including her onscreen dad John Amos whose Cleo McDowell was famously inspired by McDonald’s. We can confirm that the Big Mick (not to be confused with the Big Mac) makes an appearance in Zamunda.
For Murphy, who stars, writes and produces, he’s been excited about reuniting with the cast and “making a movie that’s as good as the first one,” he said in an email statement. “Getting everybody together, including Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, John Amos, James Earl Jones and the rest of my royal family, and making a really great movie, that’s my favorite part.”
But will fans love it as much as the original with all of its hilarious scenes and meme-worthy lines? Headley believes they will.
“I have no doubt that this will become a film that people will love. I will venture to say they’ll love it more than the first…” says the veteran actress. “I think I’m as excited as the audience will be because this is just nonstop entertainment.”
Part of the funny factor is the big reveal that Akeem fathered a son (played by Jermaine Fowler) many years ago. It looks like Akeem did take his dad’s advice and “sow his royal oats” in Queens, New York—with Leslie Jones.
Last October, Jones, who’s hosting NBC’s Supermarket Sweep, shared this about the sequel, which she was reluctant signing onto. “I wasn’t going to do it because I was like, ‘I don’t want to be part of another remake.’ I thought, ‘Is it going to be good?’ When I saw the script, the rewrite of the script, I was like, ‘Wow, this is actually really funny,’ she said to ESSENCE. “They don’t stay stuck, they move into the future. They update everything. It’s actually a really good movie. I think everybody’s really going to love it.”
Wesley Snipes, Michael Blackson, Tracy Morgan and KiKi Layne (as Lisa and Akeem’s daughter) also round out the cast. But there’s one costar that Murphy’s especially excited to make an appearance: his own daughter, Bella Murphy.
“We have incredible new cast members who are all so funny and really brought their A-game,” he said.
Murphy adds: “This is the perfect time to return to Zamunda because it’s been a while since we’ve had a great comedy that everybody can enjoy. Zamunda is a very funny place, and the world needs that right now.”
Catch Coming 2 America on Amazon Prime Video March 2021.