Tracy Morgan Reveals Details About His 'Coming 2 America' Character
Coming 2 America has a stacked cast of comedians that will all likely be vying for screen time with star Eddie Murphy in the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 comedy classic. But Tracy Morgan may sneak in with a fair amount, because he's family — or at least, he's playing family to the long-lost son of Murphy's Prince Akeem. Morgan revealed more details about his Coming 2 America role as Reem, the uncle of Prince Akeem's long-lost son via one-night stand.
In a video conference interview on The Howard Stern Show (via CinemaBlend), Morgan chatted about his role in Coming 2 America, noting that he is "big time in the movie." Morgan is playing Reem, the brother of Leslie Jones' character, the mother of Prince Akeem's long-lost son LaVelle (played by Sorry to Bother You's Jermaine Fowler) by one-night stand:
"Well, Eddie had a son in the first one, and I'm that boy's uncle. I'm his uncle and that's gonna be awesome. I've always wanted to work with one of my idols and my comedic heroes. And I had the opportunity to work with him."
While Morgan's casting suggests that he'll play a comic relief character, his interview with Stern implies that Reem may be a pivotal character to the long-awaited sequel. In Coming 2 America, Murphy's Prince Akeem is on the verge of being crowned King of Zamunda when he suddenly discovers that he has a son he never knew about back in America, a street-smart hustler named Lavelle. On the dying wishes of his father, King Jaffe Joffer (James Earl Jones), Akeem returns to America with his loyal friend Semmi (Arsenio Hall) to bring the new prince home.
Saturday Night Live's Leslie Jones plays Lavelle's mother, who had a one night stand with Prince Akeem, while Morgan plays Lavelle's hustler uncle Reem.
Other new cast members in Coming 2 America include Wesley Snipes as a rival African general who wants to take over Zamunda, KiKi Layne as Akeem's daughter, and singer Teyana Taylor, rapper Rick Ross, and comedian Michael Blackson in currently unknown roles. Returning cast members from the original movie include James Earl Jones as Zamunda's king, Paul Bates as Akeem's manservant Oha, John Amos as Cleo McDowell, Shari Headley as Prince Akeem's princess Lisa McDowell, and Louie Anderson as McDowell's employee Maurice.
Coming 2 America is directed by Craig Brewer and slated to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2020.