Ryan Coogler Almost Directed the 'Coming to America' Sequel
According to Eddie Murphy, Ryan Coogler approached him with an idea for a sequel.
On Wednesday, the New York Times published an interview with Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall. On the verge of the release of Coming 2 America, the two talked about their relationship and how the sequel of the 1988 cult classic came about. Spoiler alert--one director Ryan Coogler was involved. Additionally, the two comedic legends revealed a few secrets about the movie's filming location, their hidden talents, and more.
According to Eddie, the sequel wasn't necessarily his idea. "We never thought about doing a sequel," he admitted. "The way the story ended was kind of like, “And they lived happily ever after.” Then all this time passed and the movie became this cult thing."
A chance meeting with Coogler put the wheels in motion. A few years later, and here we are. Coming 2 America hits Amazon Prime Video on March 5th.
"Then Ryan Coogler," he continued, "before he directed Black Panther, I meet with him and he says, I want to do a Coming to America sequel. He had an idea for Michael B. Jordan to play my son and he would be looking for a wife. I was like, then the movie would be about the son, it’s not our characters, we already did that. It didn’t come together. But all that made me start thinking, maybe we should do a sequel."
When discussing each other's personal differences, Hall praised Eddie for his multi-dimensional talent. "You can pop by Eddie's and he'll play a song for you," he said. "You can't even believe, wait, that's you on guitar? That’s you singing? You wrote and produced this track? And that’s what he does for fun."
"I have so many tracks and collaborations with people," Eddie revealed. "Michael Jackson, El DeBarge, all these people I’ve been in the studio with over the years and never finished it or never released it."
One musician who is involved in this release, however, is Rick Ross. Many scenes in the movie were shot at the Miami MC's 300+ acre mansion in Atlanta.
"How perfect to do Coming 2 America in Atlanta," Hall said, "where it's hot and the palace actually is owned by Rick Ross."
"That stuff you see where I’m walking on the African plain and there’s antelopes running," Murphy said, "that’s Rick Ross’s backyard."
Coming 2 America arrives March 5th on Amazon Prime Video.