‘Coming 2 America’ Gets Official Release Date: Here’s How to Watch the Sequel to Eddie Murphy’s Classic Comedy
Coming 2 America, the highly-anticipated sequel to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 comedy classic, Coming to America, finally has an official March 2021 release date. Here’s everything we know about the movie, including who’s in the star-studded cast and how you can watch it.
‘Coming 2 America’ is a sequel, not a remake
32 years after viewers last saw Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) make his journey from Zamunda to Queens and back, Coming 2 America will pick up with the African king in his new life as a parent. As reported by Deadline, the sequel will follow Akeem as he heads back to New York to find Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler), a son he never knew existed.
Akeem has a daughter, Meeka (KiKi Layne). But his royal father, King Jaffe (James Earl Jones), has a dying wish that he sees his male heir become the crown prince. So once again, Akeem ventures out to America with his best friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall), this time to find a son he’s never met.
The star-studded cast includes Eddie Murphy in multiple roles
James Earl Jones, Arsenio Hall, Shari Headley, John Amos, Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Louis Anderson will reprise their Coming to America roles for the sequel. And Eddie Murphy will not only return to play Prince Akeem, but he will also bring back the numerous side characters he portrayed in the original — and a few more.
“Well, I have all of the old characters from the first one — the old Jewish guy, and the barber, and the prince, and Randy Watson,” Murphy revealed in an interview with The Ellen Show. “And now I do this, an old farmer I’m doing. So maybe it’s five or six [characters] now.”
Coming 2 America will also star Saturday Night Live alumni Tracy Morgan and Leslie Jones. With Wesley Snipes, Garcelle Beauvais, KiKi Layne, Jermaine Fowler, and Rick Ross rounding out the star-studded cast.
‘Coming 2 America’ premieres in March 2021
With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping audiences away from theaters, anticipated blockbusters like Wonder Woman 1984 and Mulan had no choice but to premiere on digital platforms. It seems that after months of negotiating, Coming 2 America distributors have decided to do the same.
According to Variety, Amazon Studios acquired the rights to the comedy from Paramount Pictures for roughly $125 million. Initially, the deal was to bring the film to the streamer on December 18, 2020. But the date has now been moved up a few months.
Coming 2 America will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 5, 2021. Subscribers with an active Prime membership will be able to watch the movie at no extra cost. Those without a membership will need to sign up for Amazon’s Prime service and activate an account with a 30-day free trial.
