Over the years, Eddie Murphy has brought a number of iconic characters to life, like witty and skilled cop Axel Foley and smooth ex-convict Reggie Hammond. In Coming 2 America, Murphy gets the opportunity to reprise his roles as Akeem Joffer, Clarence, Saul and of course, Randy Watson. Murphy definitely has his hands full in the film as it is, but it turns out he almost revived another famous character (or two or three) for the new film before it was deemed "too expensive" to do so.
Many viewers might remember that the original Coming to America featured cameos from Trading Places’ Randolph and Mortimer Duke, played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche, respectively. While they only appeared briefly, their presence did confirm that John Landis’ two comedies take place in the same universe. So when ReelBlend co-host Jake Hamilton recently spoke with Eddie Murphy, he couldn’t help but ask if a similar situation had been planned for the sequel. And as it turns out, Eddie Murphy wanted to bring a pretty iconic family in for a scene:
There was a scene in this Coming to America we just did. There was a scene where the Klumps... remember the circumcision scene? Originally, the Klumps kind of popped up in that scene. In the long run, it was too hard a left, and it would have been too expensive to do. So yeah, they were in this thing.
As any Eddie Murphy, or general comedy fan, likely knows, the Klump family was introduced in Murphy’s 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor. In the film, the actor iconically played lovable scientist Sherman Klump, along with his outspoken but loving family members. Murphy specifically played both of Sherman’s parents along with his brother and grandmother. Aside from the Klump family, he even played fitness star Lance Perkins.
Having the Klumps appear in Coming 2 America would have been a great Easter egg and another way to further build this apparent “Eddie Murphy Cinematic Universe.” Nevertheless, it’s easy to understand why it didn’t come to be. Having them show up would have kept Murphy in the makeup chair even longer and would have required more hours of work. So as the actor said, it would have gotten pricey.
You still have to admire just how willing Eddie Murphy was to throw himself into all of that extra work for a single scene. The comedian definitely doesn’t mind throwing himself into a role. As a matter of fact, he was originally set to play one of Arsenio Hall’s characters in the sequel as well.
It may be disappointing that Sherman Klump and his hilarious clan don’t show up in Coming 2 America, but we can still take pleasure in seeing the various other characters Eddie Murphy plays in the new film. I think I speak for a number of fans when I say we’ve sorely missed these characters.
Coming 2 America debuts on Amazon Prime Video on March 5th.
