BEVERLY HILLS, CA - NOVEMBER 03: Honoree Eddie Murphy speaks onstage at Spike TV's "Eddie Murphy: One Night Only" at the Saban Theatre on November 3, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Nothing beats childhood movies and when it comes to childhood movies it’s hard to beat Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America. The 1988 original grossed more than $288 million worldwide and was beloved by fans. Now, a sequel is in the works at Paramount Pictures, according to The Tracking Board.
Original screenwriters Barry Blaustein and David Sheffield are signed on to write the sequel and it being written for Murphy’s Prince Akeem (who is most likely King by now).
The original movie was directed by John Landis and starred Murphy as a wealthy and powerful African prince who sneaks off to Queens, New York to pose as a poor man and search for a wife. Murphy was joined by Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, John Amos, Eriq La Salle and Louie Anderson.
Kevin Misher (Mirror Mirror, Carrie remake) will produce the sequel. No concrete plot details are known at this time. Previously, Murphy had spent years trying to get a Beverly Hills Cop IV off the ground, but the project died out due to script problems. Murphy has appeared in just one film (Mr. Church) over the last five years, so lets hope the Coming to America sequel gets him back in the spotlight.
Eddie’s brother Charlie tragically passed away this week at age 57.
