Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy made a pact some 30 years ago to never make a Coming to America sequel — but relentless fandom changed their minds.
Dropping by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, Hall explained what finally sparked Murphy’s idea for a follow-up to the classic 1988 film about a wealthy African prince who comes to America looking for true love.
“It took 30 years because we never planned on doing it,” Hall told Colbert. “In fact, we shook and said, ‘Let’s never do a sequel.’ We were so happy with it. It was perfect, we’re never going to mess with it.”
However, the film kept following the duo through the years, and Hall kept showing Murphy Coming to America-themed fan parties and events posted on social media, which convinced the star comic-actor that perhaps another movie was not an awful idea, Hall said.
Murphy finally pitched his idea for a sequel, which Hall said he loved — all except one thought. “He wanted Tracy Morgan to play his son — and I think Eddie and Tracy look about the same age (they are just eight years apart). But, he’s Eddie Murphy, so you have to say it easy. You know what I did, I did it in joke form and said, ‘Maybe in the third one, Morgan Freeman can be your son.'”
Murphy got the hint and later cast Jermaine Fowler as his character’s son. However, Morgan is in the film.
Coming 2 America is set to release digitally March 5 on Amazon Prime Video.
Watch the full segment below.