The long-awaited sequel to the original classic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem Joffer and Arsenio Hall as royal aide/best friend Semmi – Coming 2 America – officially has a first trailer courtesy of Amazon Prime Video.
Initially scheduled for a mid-December release after its acquisition from Paramount Pictures for a reported sum of US$125 million, Coming 2 America marks Amazon Prime Video’s second heavyweight comedy release for the year after Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat 2. And based on what we’ve been shown thus far, it appears as though the streaming service is on track to go 2/2 for cultural hits.
“What I love most is we didn’t lose the main agenda, the humour,” Hall recently told Complex.
“It’s a funny fucking movie, and I’m proud that we hit all those bumps and checked all those boxes… It does everything you need it to do, and I think people will love the additions to it. There are some surprises here that will surprise people who don’t get surprised.”
According to Paramount Pictures, the synopsis is as follows:
Set after the events of the first film, former Prince Akeem Joffer (Murphy) is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). Honouring his royal father’s (James Earl Jones) dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi (Hall) set off to America once again.
In addition to the return of Murphy, Hall, Jones, and Shari Headley as Lisa McDowell – Akeem’s love interest turned wife from the first film – the cast will also be welcoming Saturday Night Live alumni Leslie Jones as Lavelle’s mother and Tracy Morgan as Lavelle’s uncle; Weslie Snipes as General Izzi, Teyana Taylor as Izzi’s daughter Bopoto, Rick Ross as himself, and of course, Fowler as the royal heir Lavelle.
With Craig Brewer at the helm – Hustle & Flow, the 2011 Footloose remake, Dolemite Is My Name – the screenplay has been penned by a trio of writers: David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein (Coming To America, The Nutty Professor), as well as Kenya Barris (Shaft, Black-ish, Grown-ish, Mixed-ish, BlackAF).
Coming 2 America is scheduled for a revised release date of March 5th – watch the first trailer above.
