Thirty years after the original, we can officially say that Coming to America is in production and will star Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall.
Coming to America is a memorable gem from the ’80s for its on-the-nose rendition of the immigrant experience and its nearly endless amount of comedic content. Both Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy made their mark in the film by playing multiple characters in the cast and made audiences laugh until they couldn’t take it anymore. The costuming and iconic scenes are still relevant today, with some even comparing last year’s Black Panther to the Eddie Murphy film.
Nearly 31 years later, we can officially say that a sequel is in the making, and we’re all excited about it.
Academy Award-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter, better known for her work on Black Panther, posted photos on Instagram of Hall and Murphy posing with her and her golden Oscar. In the caption, she wrote that the cast was coming in for their preliminary fitting.
The1988 Coming to America had exquisite costuming that represented the attire of the fictional country of Zamunda. With Carter on board designing the pieces for the sequel, we are sure to have a display of impressive wardrobes for the cast.
Deadline revealed the following synopsis for the Coming to America sequel:
"Akeem learns about a long-lost son and must return to America to meet the unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda."
In the original film, Prince Akeem came to Queens, New York to find a Queen to marry because he wanted to ditch his arranged marriage and marry for love. In the end, Akeem marries Lisa, the daughter of a CEO of a fake McDonald’s chain called “McDowell’s.” While we are made to assume that Lisa and Akeem live happily ever after, in Zamunda, news of an unlikely son may mean that Akeem hooked up with someone before marrying Lisa. If this is true, Akeem may be returning to New York City, after living in his country for over 30 years.
There are a few elements of the original film that are going to be needed to make this sequel a blockbuster hit. The characters that audiences over the years have come to love should have their “30 years later” debut. Since this is my favorite movie, I already have a list of characters who we need to see in the sequel. It includes King Jaffe Joffre, Queen Aoleon, Cleo McDowell, Patrice, Darryl, Reverend Brown, Clarence, Morris, Randy Watson, Oha, and the rose bearers. And most importantly, Hall and Murphy should recreate their former characters and introduce completely new ones, too.
If this sequel is anything like the original, audiences will be talking about it for years to come.
Coming to America 2 is set to be released in theaters on Aug. 7, 2020