With all the reboots that were announced at the top of 2020, many people weren't particularly enthused by the news that classic film Coming to America was also being revisited for a modern audience. But the first official trailer for cleverly named Coming 2 America hints that not all sequels are made equal — we're actually going to have a good time with this one.
An Amazon original project, the Coming 2 America reunites fans of the iconic 1988 movie with protagonist Prince Akeem Joffer (Eddie Murphy) and his right hand man Semmi (Arsenio Hall) 33 years after their first trip to New York City. The Zamundans are back in the Big Apple once again on a new mission: find Akeem's only son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) and groom him to become the Crown Prince of the fictional African nation.
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But just as Akeem struggled to adjust to life as a commoner in Queens, young Lavelle has a hard time acclimating to Zamunda. He and his mom (played by Leslie Jones) aren't exactly high-born, and they have to contend with the frosty reception of Akeem's oldest daughter Meeka (Kiki Layne). To make things even more complicated for the first family, there's a coup afoot; a scheming general is also working behind the scenes to snatch Akeem's throne right from under him.
The trailer sets up the long-awaited sequel to one of the most popular films in Black cinema to be a good time, exploring themes of family and even gender roles throughout. Its PG-13 rating, however, should let fans know that even with a sociocultural boundary pusher like blackAF creator Kenya Barris heading up the writer's room and My Name Is Dolemite's Craig Bower at the helm, we're not looking at the comedy of the late 80s where practically anything was permissible. It's 2021 — some jokes just won't fly.
To say that Coming 2 America is jam-packed with your faves would be an understatement. The sequel is so packed with A-listers that they couldn't even fit everyone in its two minute, 30 second-long trailer. Joining Murphy and Hall to reprise their other roles in the first movie are James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, John Amos, Louie Anderson, and Vanessa Bell Calloway. Tracy Morgan, Wesley Snipes, Garcelle Beauvais, and Teyana Taylor round out the extended cast.
Judge for yourself whether this sequel honors the legacy of Zamunda when Coming 2 America officially hits Amazon Prime, starting March 5, 2021.