When is Coming 2 America dropping on Amazon Prime Video?

Update (3/5): Coming 2 America can now be streamed on Amazon Prime Video at no extra charge. You can see it here.

We are in the golden age of legacy sequels, and one of the most anticipated episodes is Coming 2 America. The 1988 follow-up to Coming to America will have a lot going for it when we look at Prince Akeem Joffer, who was first played by Eddie Murphy over three decades ago.

Coming to America was a great success in its day. It grossed $ 288 million at the worldwide box office and has been a cultural touchstone ever since.

The sequel to Coming to America is coming to Amazon Prime in March. If you don’t already have an Amazon Prime subscription, click the link below to sign up. You won’t want to miss Coming 2 America when it premieres along with all of the other movies and series that you can see on the platform.

Now let’s examine everything we know about Coming 2 America.

When and where can you watch Coming 2 America?

Coming 2 America will premiere worldwide on Amazon Prime on March 5th.

Streaming release wasn’t always the plan. Paramount Pictures, which produced the sequel to Coming to America, had initially hoped for a theatrical release. Unfortunately, almost everything has hit the COVID-19 pandemic. While some cinemas stay open and come back to life, Paramount opted for a safer exhibition route. Amazon Prime stepped in and acquired the film back in November last year.

But there is still a way to see it on the big screen. On March 5, when the film lands on Amazon Prime, fans in Queens will have the opportunity to see Coming 2 America in a drive-in theater. Up to 200 cars can only see the show for one night at Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Coming 2 America joins several high profile films that either skipped theaters or had hybrid rollouts. It’s part of the sequel to Borat, the live-action Mulan and Wonder Woman: 1984, along with many other films that were released to protect audiences. Some big ticket titles like Dune and the latest James Bond entry, No Time to Die, have seen many delays and pushed back releases. Then others, like Tenet, hit theaters as soon as possible despite the pandemic.

Paramount’s decision to go through Amazon seems to cheat us of a better viewing experience, but it is safer than sorry. That way, we can see Coming 2 America with the certainty of staying home.

Where we left off in Coming to America

It’s no wonder why Coming to America was such a hit. The film remains a comedy classic to this day, and the laughter holds up well.

In the 1988 comedy, Akeem Jaffer, prince of the fictional African nation of Zamunda, is at a crossroads. The spoiled Akeem is about to marry a woman he does not love, and he fears that he will settle for a life he did not choose for himself. So he decides to take a trip. With his familiar confidante Semmi, Akeem heads to the borough of Queens, NY, in hopes of finding a woman he loves and respects before returning home.

Akeem’s father, King Jaffee Joffer, is immediately looking for his son to ensure his successor and to maintain the order and integrity of the Zamundan throne.

But Akeem is committed and uses his time in America to make new friends and learn about inequality and injustice in the West. He gets a job in a burger joint to pay the bills. And he does this while dipping his toe into the world of dating.

The fish-out-of-water setup is hilarious, and Eddie Murphy plays Akeem as a cross between a kind, compassionate outsider and a goofy prankster. Successful in his quest, Akeem meets bright and beautiful activist Lisa (whose father happens to own the burger chain Akeem works for). Lisa falls in love with Akeem and travels to Zamunda to marry him.

What is Coming 2 America about?

In Coming 2 America, the newly crowned King Akeem is on his way again. He returns to Queens from Zamunda with Semmi.

The fish-out-of-water setup of the original is reversed, and Akeem’s son returns to Zamunda to ascend the throne.

The plot of the sequel to Coming to America revolves around the fate of the Zamunda throne. Akeem goes in search of a son he never knew had. The young man Lavelle is in Queens and theoretically heir to the throne of Zamunda. The fish-out-water setup of the original is reversed, and Lavelle returns to Zamunda with his family to learn about his legacy and eventually ascend to the throne.

But a power struggle is brewing as Akeem’s daughter, Princess Meeka, also wants to be Akeem’s successor. To make matters worse, the mad General Izzi. General Izzi, the older brother of Akeem’s despised bride Imani, wants to ascend the throne by force.

This is not the first attempt to build on the success of Coming to America. In 1989, CBS hired a pilot for a spin-off series in which Akeem’s brother Tariq visits the United States as a student. King Akeem banished his brother Tariq for being a joker and an embarrassment to the family. The pilot was not well received and was never called to the series.

Paramount and Amazon Prime haven’t released much more than we see in the trailer. But so far, Coming 2 America looks like a pretty worthy sequel to Coming to America. Hopefully it’ll be better than the broken series.

Who is involved in the sequel to Coming to America?

Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall will repeat their roles as Akim and Semmi along with several other quirky characters. James Earl Jones and Shari Headley also return in Coming 2 America. They will repeat their roles as King Jaffe Joffer and the new Queen Lisa.

Other original cast members returning from Coming to America include John Amos and Louie Anderson. And Wesley Snipes joins the cast as the main antagonist, General Izzi.

Several other new faces, including big stars, round out the cast. These include Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Fowler, Bella Murphy, Rotimi, KiKi Layne, Nomzamo Mbatha, and Teyana Taylor.

Behind the camera, Kenya Barris, Barry W. Blaustein, David Sheffield and Justin Kanew wrote Coming 2 America. And Craig Brewer, director of Murphy in Netflix‘s Dolemite Is My Name, is directing. Brewer took on the direction of John Landis, who directed the original Coming to America.

We know that about Coming 2 America. Experience the sequel to Coming to America on March 5th on Amazon Prime.

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