Kicking off with last year’s Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy has made a massive comeback to the R-rated comedy realm after 20 years away from the genre as he focused more on family-friendly fare and raising his kids. After a nostalgia trip of a Saturday Night Live return back in December, the actor is also set to play Prince Akeem and his other Coming To America characters in the upcoming sequel, and Tracy Morgan is joining him.
Following the 1988 classic comedy, James Earl Jones and Arsenio Hall will reprise their roles in Coming 2 America, but there’s an impressive cast with new roles as well. Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones are among them, alongside the 30 Rock comedian. Now Tracy Morgan is talking more about his character in the sequel. In his words:
Well, Eddie had a son in the first one, and I’m that boy’s uncle. I’m his uncle and that’s gonna be awesome. I’ve always wanted to work with one of my idols and my comedic heroes. And I had the opportunity to work with him.
In Coming 2 America, Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem will return to America to find his long-lost son LaVelle, who is reported to be played by Sorry To Bother You’s Jermaine Fowler. Saturday Night Live’s Leslie Jones is expected to be playing LaVelle’s mother, who had a one night stand with Prince Akeem back in the day. Tracy Morgan will be playing Reem, who seems to be the brother of Jones’ character and perhaps LaVelle's father figure.
When Tracy Morgan talked about his role in Coming 2 America during a video conference chat on The Howard Stern Show, he said he is ”big time in the movie,” suggesting Reem might be a pivotal character in the long-awaited comedy sequel. Coming 2 America is written by Black-ish’s Kenya Barris and directed by My Name Is Dolemite’s Craig Brewer.
Although there’s been quite a few movies that have been delayed from its intended release date due to COVID-19, this doesn’t seem to be the case for Coming 2 America. During the interview, Tracy Morgan said they made the movie at “the right time,” and when the virus situation is over, the release of Coming 2 America is “going to be the thing to do.”
When Eddie Murphy talked about Coming 2 America back in December, he offered some confidence in the movie, saying that it goes “above and beyond” with expectations and he’s “really, really happy with it.” Murphy is also planning to return to his role of Axel Foley for Beverly Hills 4 for Netflix and return to stand up.
Are you excited to see Eddie Murphy and Tracy Morgan in Coming 2 America? The comedy comes to theaters on December 18.
