Before the nation of Wakanda, a place inundated with Black royalty and wealth, there was Zamunda. It was announced earlier this year the 1980s John Landis film Coming To America — starring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and more will have its sequel. Deadline announced today that filmmaker Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) is now attached as director.
Eddie Murphy will reprise his role as Akeem and Arsenio Hall will return as Akeem’s personal assistant Semmi.
Kenya Barris, who recently left ABC’s black-ish as a series showrunner to score a $100 million dollar Netflix deal, is penned to write the screenplay.
Here’s a synopsis of the film:
In the sequel, Akeem learns about a long lost son and must return to America to meet his unlikely heir to the throne of Zamunda. The intention is to bring back the original cast which includes Arsenio Hall, who played the prince’s aide Semmi, Shari Headley, who was courted by the prince when he went undercover as a fast food worker, John Amos, who played her father, and James Earl Jones, who played the king.
In a statement Eddie Murphy said the following:
“After many years of anticipation, I’m thrilled that Coming to America 2 is officially moving forward. We’ve assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on Dolemite, and I’m looking forward to bringing all these classic and beloved characters back to the big screen.”
Kenya Barris says:
“Craig’s ability to create a distinct cinematic world with each of his films is not only impressive but also what made him exactly the voice and vision we needed to bring this story to life. From Hustle and Flow to his work with Eddie on Dolemite Is My Name, he never fails to blow me away. He is a true auteur and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have him on board.”
Production is expected to be underway in 2019.
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