Coming 2 America has lined up a stellar cast, exceeding the talent on display in the original 1988 Coming to America with a ton of names new to the franchise that now include Tracy Morgan. This will be the first time Tracy Morgan has appeared in a movie with Eddie Murphy, though the two are long-time friends.
It was announced earlier in the summer that Wesley Snipes has also joined the comedy as a new character. He will be joined by other newcomers Lesley Jones and Kiki Layne. The Tracy Morgan character will have ties to Prince Akeem’s son, while Wesley Snipes is said to be playing the ruler of a neighboring nation that is in competition with Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem named General Izzi.
Craig Brewer is directing the sequel to John Landis’ blockbuster smash hit. Brewer most recently directed Eddie Murphy and Wesley Snipes in the upcoming Netflix biopic Dolemite is My Name. Returning from the original will be Arsenio Hall as Prince Akeem’s assistant. James Earl Jones as Akeem’s father from the fictional African nation of Zamunda. And Shari Headley as Akeem’s wife.
Related: Coming 2 America Gets Superior Donuts Star Jermaine Fowler in Key Role
The original movie followed Prince Akeem coming to America to find a wife, while holding down a job at a McDonalds rip-off restaurant called McDowell’s. Now, thirty years later, Akeem is set to become King of Zamunda. He discovers he has a long-lost son in Queens, a street smart New York native named Lavelle. Akeem must abide by his dying father’s wish to groom his son to become the new crowned Prince, which once again sets him off to visit America.
Lesley Jones will be playing the mother of Lavelle, whom had a one-night stand with Prince Akeem. Tracey Morgan is playing Lavelle’s Uncle, Jones’ brother. He is described as a hustler named Reem.
Though it was previously believed that Coming 2 America had already begun shooting after a well-received teaser was shown during this year’s CinemaCon, that was from early camera tests. Principle photograph is scheduled to begin later this month. The movie will be in theaters just in time for Christmas next year, arriving on December 18, 2020.
Eddie Murphy is producing the sequel alongside Kevin Misher and Kenya Barris. Coming 2 America will be the next live-action project Tracey Morgan takes on. He has two big animated films in the pipeline. He’ll voice Captain Caveman in the upcoming big screen reboot of Scooby-Doo, which is just being called Scoob for now. It teams various Hanna-Barbera characters with Mystery Inc. for their greatest mystery. Morgan will also be lending his voice to Green Eggs and Ham, with the Dr. Seuss classic becoming a Netflix original. This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter.
