By Kenyatta Coleman
America’s favorite cult classic has made its return to our homes after 30 years.
“Coming 2 America” is back and better when the king of Zamunda realizes that he has a long-lost son who needs to take his rightful place on the throne.
Our favorite comedy kings Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, make their grand return as newly-crowned King Akeem and Semmi go through a brand new adventure back in Queens, New York.
As Clark Atlanta University represented at the HBCU roundtable with the cast of “Coming 2 America,” fans could get insight into the film from Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Rotimi, Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy.
The cast took the time to touch on the importance of expanding the legacy of the first film and carving their own lane for the sequel.
“It’s also important that you have the guidance of the original people who were involved,” Jermaine Fowler, who plays Lavelle, said.
The film symbolized old school meets new school as they brought the original movie’s essence and insinuated new things within the film.
“I think people are going to love what we made,” Fowler said.
The actors emphasized what it means to show growth and progress as they tackled such a beloved film and knew to handle it delicately as they bridge the gap between the older and newer generation.
“I think we all need to respect where we all come from and what we’ve all been through because most stuff hasn’t changed,” Fowler said.
When fans think of the film, they think of comedy gold, and the sequel was also a way for new cast members to understand the importance of creating a quality comedy film.
“We had a mutual understanding [Tracy and I] that this movie “Coming 2 America” means so so much to us, and we had this respect and support and give each other that space. I would give him lines to experiment with, and he would give me some ideas to kind of play with. It was a camaraderie on that set, and we just knew we wanted this movie to really work because it just meant so much to us,” Fowler said.
The original film has impacted various generations and has made it possible for so many up-and-coming actors and comedians to showcase their talents.
Rotimi, who plays Pretty Izzi, spoke out how the film changed his view of what it means to test your skills to be great indeed.
“I know a lot of actors would wish they were on something like this; it’s a dream come true,” Rotimi said.
He highlighted that he has favor over his life when it comes to significant accomplishments such as this one.
As fans watch the film, the entire cast wanted to make it known that the film and based on fun and look at it as an escape from the chaos occurring in the real world.
“It was fun to do. Going into the movie, we never ever thought we would be doing a sequel to “Coming to America,” we kind of forgot about it, and then the movie stayed in the culture,” Eddie Murphy, who plays King Akeem, said.
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall did not realize how impactful and beloved the film would be even after 30 years.
“You could be at a Starbucks and have a barista be like, “I love that movie, don’t y’all mess it up!” I realized that people love it, and they were waiting for us to do the right thing,” Arsenio Hall, who plays Semmi, said.
The two comedy geniuses wanted to make it known that they want viewers to enjoy themselves and enjoy the escape of this comedy classic.
“I feel like anybody that’s invested in “Coming to America”... I think they’re gonna love it more than anybody,” Murphy said.