The gestating ‘Coming 2 America′ now has Tracy Morgan onboard the ensemble. He will play Reem, a hustler and the uncle of Lavelle. The film is a sequel to the 1988 comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, and both Murphy and Hall will be reprising their roles of Prince Akeem and Semmi, respectively.
Morgan is currently in the TBS series ‘The Last O.G.’ and was recently in an episode of the CBS All Access anthology ‘The Twilight Zone.’ He is popular for his role in the NBC series ’30 Rock.’ Next, he will appear in Warner Bros. Animation’s ‘Scoob,’ releasing May 15, 2020, and the Netflix series ‘Green Eggs and Ham.’
Moreover, the returning actors are below:
- John Amos (‘Die Hard 2,’ ‘The West Wing’) returning as Cleo McDowell, the owner of McDowell’s and the father of Prince Akeem’s love interest.
- Louie Anderson (‘Baskets,’ ‘Sandy Wexler’) returning as Maurice, an employee at McDowell’s, the fictional McDonald’s-like restaurant.
- Paul Bates (‘True Romance,’ ‘8 Mile’) returning as Oha, Prince Akeem’s stiff-upper-lipped manservant and bodyguard.
- Vanessa Bell Calloway (‘Saints & Sinners,’ ‘Dragged Across Concrete’) returning as Imani Izzi, Prince Akeem’s once wife-to-be after a marriage arranged by his father.
- Shari Headley (‘All My Children,’ The Haves and the Have Nots’) returning as Lisa McDowell, Prince Akeem’s love interest and eventual wife.
- James Earl Jones (‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,’ ‘The Lion King’) returning as King Jaffe Joffer.
Here are the new actors and their roles:
- Michael Blackson (‘Meet the Blacks,’ ‘Nobody’s Fool’) in an unknown role.
- Jermaine Fowler (‘Crashing,’ ‘Sorry to Bother You’) as Lavelle, a street-savvy Queens native.
- Leslie Jones (‘Saturday Night Live,’ ‘Ghostbusters’) as Lavelle’s mother, a woman who had a one-night stand with Prince Akeem, leading to pregnancy.
- Kiki Layne (‘If Beale Street Could Talk,’ ‘Captive State’) as Prince Akeem’s daughter, who has the burden of feeling like she is the son her father never had.
- Rick Ross (‘SuperFly,’ ‘Uncle Drew’) in an undisclosed role.
- Wesley Snipes (‘Blade,’ ‘Chi-Raq’) as General Izzi, a man who rules a neighboring nation.
- Teyana Taylor (‘Hit the Floor,’ ‘Star’) as possibly the daughter of an African general (who could also be played by Murphy) who wants to kill Prince Akeem and marry his daughter off to Lavelle in order to gain power in neighboring Zamunda.
Also, there is the possibility Dave Chappelle (‘Chi-Raq,’ A Star is Born’) will play the character Baba. He is an old shaman from Zamunda that advises King Jaffe and later Prince Akeem.
Meanwhile, Craig Brewer (‘Hustle & Flow,’ ‘Empire’) is directing the film. Brewer and Murphy recently collaborated on Netflix’s ‘Dolemite Is My Name,’ releasing this year. Kenya Barris (‘Black-ish’) is rewriting a script by original ‘Coming to America’ writers Barry Blaustein & David Sheffield.
The premise of the long-awaited comedy is below:
“Akeem (Murphy) is set to become King of Zamunda but then he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle (Fowler). Honoring his father’s (Jones) dying wish to groom this son as the crowned prince, Akeem and Semmi (Hall) set off to America.”
Additionally, costume designer Ruth E. Carter (‘Selma,’ ‘Black Panther’) and production designer Jefferson Sage (‘Spy,’ ‘A Simple Favor’) are onboard.
We at the GWW can also confirm visual effects supervisor Jon Farhat is part of the crew. His recent credits include ‘Wanted,’ ‘The Book of Eli,’ and ‘Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters.’
Further, filming will begin this month and wrap November 8th. Locations include New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.
Paramount will release the film on December 18, 2020.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter