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Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall reunite for Coming 2 America 2 on Amazon

Sequel to the 1988 comedy is bypassing theaters, and will be released on Prime Video in March.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
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Video screenshot by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper/CNET

Coming 2 America 2 is coming to a home screen near you. The sequel to the original Coming 2 America, the 1988 big-screen comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, was scheduled to open in theaters in 2020. But on Friday, Amazon Studios announced it's acquired worldwide rights to the film, and will make it available on Prime Video on March 5, 2021. 

Murphy and Hall are reprising their roles, with Murphy playing Prince Akeem Joffer from the fictional African nation of Zamunda, and Hall as his best friend, Semmi.

"Coming to America was a cultural phenomenon that is one of the most loved and celebrated comedies of all time," said Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke in a statement. 

In addition to Murphy and Hall, cast members including James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, John Amos and Louie Anderson will return. New cast members include Wesley Snipes, Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan. The first film's barbershop crew will also return, which was great news for some fans.

"Amazon confirming that Coming To America 2 will feature all the barbershop lads has made me happier than Joe Louis on his 137th birthday," wrote one Twitter user, referencing a favorite bit of dialogue from the original film.

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