The long-awaited sequel to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 Coming to America has arrived, but Arsenio Hall shared with Ryan Seacrest fans weren’t originally going to get Coming 2 America.
The sequel to the hit comedy follows Prince Akeem (played by Eddie Murphy), who is set to become the king of the fictional country of Zamunda, as he finds out he has a son he never knew about. To honor the former king’s dying wish to raise his grandson as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi (played by Arsenio Hall) once again leave for America. The star-studded sequel also features Leslie Jones.
“We never planned on there being a Coming to America two,” Arsenio shared with Seacrest. “People say ‘Why did you wait 30-something years?’ We thought its wonderful, people love it and it will eventually go away and we’ll be proud of it. … But then we start noticing things like — Eddie’s not into social media but I’m a freak with social media — I’d say, ‘Hey, look at this, they decorated a restaurant as McDowells on Halloween and they’re serving sexual chocolate milkshakes.’ Or I’d have a text from Beyoncé’s office saying she’s having a party and everyone’s going to dress as Coming to America characters. … [Eddie] was like, ‘Yeah, maybe the movies not going to go away.’ It feels like a cult thing minus the Kool-Aid,” he jokingly added. “And he said we should do another one, maybe."
Watch back the full interview for more from Arsenio, including the hilarious way he squashed Tracy Morgan at first playing the son role. Stream Coming 2 America on Amazon Prime now!