In April, Coming to America stars Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall confirmed that they would be reprising their roles in the improbable — but very real — sequel, Coming 2 America. Now it seems that the pair will be joined by none other than Wesley Snipes for the highly anticipated comedy feature, which was written by Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and will be directed by Dolemite Is My Name and Empire alum Craig Brewer.
According to Deadline, Snipes will play “General Izzi, the ruler of a neighboring nation of Zamunda.” And considering the nature of the Coming 2 America plot synopsis, there’s a good chance that Snipes’ character may end up being the film’s antagonist:
In the sequel, Akeem is set to become King of Zamunda but discovers he has a son he never knew about in America — a street-savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his father’s dying wish to groom this son as the crowned prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America to meet the unlikely heir.
Snipes, who also stars alongside Murphy in Brewer’s Dolemite Is My Name, recently re-entered the pop culture zeitgeist when Marvel Studios decided to reboot Blade with Mahershala Ali. While many of the actor’s fans weren’t too happy about his not being cast by Marvel, he didn’t seem to mind.
“Although the news comes as a surprise, it’s ALL GOOD. Such is the ‘business’ of ‘entertainment!'” he wrote in a statement. Now, we will all get to see him as what sounds like a scenery-chewing role in an Eddie Murphy comedy.
(Via Deadline)
