Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit featured a talented group of young actors/singers as the students who were forced by lounge singer-turned-nun Sister Mary Clarence to form a choir and save their school from closure. The most famous of those was, of course, Lauryn Hill, iconic rapper and frontwoman of The Fugees, but some may forget that Jennifer Love Hewitt was also among those musically gifted teens. With Sister Act 3 coming to streaming (have that Disney+ subscription ready), the 9-1-1 star gave her thoughts on reprising her role more than 30 years later.
Yes, it was 1993 back when Jennifer Love Hewitt portrayed Margaret on Sister Act 2. This was pre-I Know What You Did Last Summer and even before Party of Five, so no one knew the stardom that was to find the actress. Her role alongside Whoopi Goldberg’s Sister Mary Clarence was small, but she told ET she’d definitely be down to join the upcoming Tyler Perry project if they asked her to. Hewitt said:
Listen, I would love to be in the third one! I have put it out there. I said, 'Give me a ring-a-ding.' But I don't know that it's gonna happen. That would be cool, I would love to.
Jennifer Love Hewitt had only great things to say about her experience on the set of Sister Act 2, as she recalled Whoopi Goldberg “so kind and so amazing.” She also marveled at the fact that she got to listen to Lauryn Hill sing live every day.
There aren’t many updates about Sister Act 3 to share at this point, and Tyler Perry has acknowledged how long it’s taking to come together. In the meantime, though, Whoopi Goldberg got the band (or choir, rather) back together on The View to celebrate Sister Act 2’s 30th anniversary, treating the audience to a performance of “Oh Happy Day,” complete with solo from Ryan Toby (who played Ahmal).
Lauryn Hill was absent from the reunion, as well as Jennifer Love Hewitt, so I don’t know if that says anything about the chances that they’ll be back for the threequel. As for who might return, Whoopi Goldberg made a heartfelt appeal to Maggie Smith to come back as Mother Superior, and Kathy Najimy (Sister Mary Patrick) has reportedly expressed interest in returning. It wouldn’t seem right to do it without Wendy Makkena also returning as Sister Mary Robert, but we’ll have to see how it all plays out.
As for newcomers to the franchise, Keke Palmer has thrown her name out there, saying she’ll accept “any job” on Sister Act 3, and there were rumors that Whoopi Goldberg had expressed interest in tapping fellow EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson for a role in the movie — a notion that some fans weren’t happy about.
Whether it’s Jennifer Love Hewitt, Keke Palmer, Jennifer Hudson or any other name, I’d be happy just to hear that the project is continuing to move along. While we wait for news, both Sister Act and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit are available to stream on Disney+, one of the best streaming services you can subscribe to, and you can also see what else is coming soon with our 2024 movie release calendar.
