‘Coming 2 America’ Adds Tracy Morgan to Already Stacked Cast

Coming 2 America is assembling quite the all-star lineup for its sequel. Comedian Tracy Morgan will be joining the cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The stacked lineup is headed by the original cast of Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and Shari Headley. Other new cast members to the movie, which is slated for December 2020, will include Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones and KiKi Layne.

Morgan will play the character Reem, who is the brother of Jones’ character, King Jaffe Joffer.

The plot for the second movie will focus on Akeem’s son, who he never knew about. Akeem will travel back to America to meet Lavelle and perhaps groom the heir to the throne.

Paramount announced the decision to do a sequel earlier this year. In a statement obtained by GQ, Murphy shared his excitement about getting the gang back together for the movie.

“After many years of anticipation, I’m thrilled that Coming to America 2 is officially moving forward,” Murphy wrote. “We’ve assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on Dolemite [Is My Name], and I’m looking forward to bringing all these classic and beloved characters back to the big screen.”

Kenya Barris will be handling the writing on the sequel. Barris’ previous work includes Girls Trip and Black-ish. GQ also shared a statement from Barris on the excitement she has working with Brewer.

“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.”

Coming to America follows Prince Akeem, played by Murphy, fleeing his African home country to get out of an arranged marriage. He brings with him his friend, Semmi, who is played by Hall, to America where he hopes to find love. The story follows him using a fake identity, blending into society as a foreign exchange student who eventually stumbles across Headley’s character and his eventual lover.

The film debuted in 1988 and currently sits at a 67 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Morgan is coming off his appearance as the ESPY host this year. Previously, Morgan was in the news after being hospitalized as a result of a car crash in New York.