Of all the highly regarded comedic actors working today, very few can boast of a career equal to that of Eddie Murphy. The one time Saturday Night Live alum exploded on to the scene in the early 1980s, making a name for himself with several high profile stand up comedy specials and a slew of hit films like 48 Hrs., Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop and of course, Coming to America.
As Murphy’s acting career took off, he began to contribute storylines to some of the films he starred in. Coming to America was one such effort and aside from helping to develop the hilarious tale of an African prince who settles in Queens, New York in order to find his bride to be, the film also marked the first time that Murphy underwent extensive makeup in order to play numerous characters. The film ended up being a massive success and helped to launch the career of Murphy’s close friend, comedian Arsenio Hall.
Some 29 years on from Coming to America’s initial release and a series of career highs and lows later, it looks as though Eddie Murphy is planning a return to the fictional kingdom of Zamunda as Prince Akeem. TMZ is reporting that Murphy is currently working on a sequel to the 1988 film. This comes only days after the comedian’s official Twitter account tweeted a photo of Coming to America star Vanessa Bell Calloway with the phrase “Coming to America sequel?”
As it turns out, the tweet was not the work of Murphy, nor did he sanction it. After further investigation, TMZ heard from sources close to Murphy that he is in the process of writing the sequel, but that the announcement on his Twitter account was premature. The tweet as well as Murphy’s entire Twitter account have since been deleted. When TMZ talked to Vanessa Bell Calloway shortly after the Twitter debacle, she had this to say about the tweet and the possibility of a second Coming to America film:
“I’m wondering if Eddie was hacked, though – wasn’t there some big thing about Twitter being hacked? Because you know, Eddie’s a very private person as we know, he’s very – he’s a very kind man – but he’s very private and I really think that maybe it could’ve gotten hacked and that’s why it’s down because it’s not true, unfortunately. I mean, that’s something I thought – I don’t know for a fact, I haven’t talked to Eddie in years but I hope it is true. I hope I’m wrong. It would be a perfect sequel.”
Murphy in two of his numerous Coming to America roles.
It’s been a long time since Eddie Murphy took fans back to the heyday of his comedy career, when he was making films that were anything but family friendly. At some point his general output began veering more toward films that ran contrary to the no-holds-barred, potty-mouthed comic he established himself as – much to the general dismay of some. A return to his comedy roots with a second Coming to America could be just what he needs to reignite his career.
At present there’s no further word on what a second Coming to America could look like and who would be involved, but fans of the original are likely to be intrigued by the concept. Enough time has certainly passed for Murphy to have fleshed out a decent concept for a sequel, so if Coming to America 2 does happen, more than a few people will be buying a ticket to see what it entails.
View Tube will keep you updated on all the latest Coming to America 2 news.
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