Coming 2 America is ready to be crowned the comedy of 2021. “I am King Akeem Joffer, and I believe you are the heir to Zamunda,” Eddie Murphy’s Akeem tells Lavelle in the movie’s Super Bowl trailer. Akeem is so excited about his son, but Lavelle seems a little uneasy about Akeem’s excitement. Akeem had a secret son 30 years ago, and now he’s ready to make Lavelle a part of his family. The trailer is full of lavish royal events, performances, and laugh-out-loud moments.
The sequel takes place in the lush and royal country of Zamunda. Newly-crowned King Akeem and his trusted confidante Semmi embark on an all-new adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began. Akeem finds out that he has a son that he never knew about in America, a Queens native named Lavelle, played by Jermaine Fowley.
Eddie and Arsenio Hall are back as Akeem and Semmi. Other returning cast members include James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer, Shari Headley as Lisa Joffer, John Amos as Cleo McDowell, Vanessa Bell Calloway as Imani Izzi, Garcelle Beauvais as Rose, and Paul Bates as Oha. In addition to Jermaine, new cast members include Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Wesley Snipes, Teyana Taylor, and Eddie’s own daughter, Bella Murphy.
Eddie gave some insight into the highly-anticipated sequel, which is being released 33 years after the original movie, in a 2019 interview with IndieWire. “Most of [Coming 2 America] takes place in Africa and it’s Zamunda…I think the reason why [Coming to America] resonated and really worked with black folks is that it was our black fairy tale. This new movie is a fairy tale as well. It’s this fairy tale world where they have a very modern problem.” Coming 2 America premieres March 5 on Amazon Prime Video.