Johns Amos will reprise his original role in the sequel to Coming to America as Cleo McDowell, the owner of McDowell’s. Amos is well-known for his role in Die Hard 2, as well as his roles in The West Wing, Men in Trees, and Two and a Half Men. He was nominated for an Emmy as an Outstanding Lead Actor in the television series Roots. This Paramount Pictures sequel will also feature many of the original 1988 cast to include Eddie Murphy (The Nutty Professor), Arsenio Hall (Black Dynamite), James Earl Jones (Star Wars), and Paul Bates.
New stars that will be joining Amos include Wesley Snipes, Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, and KiKi Layne. This second film will be directed by Craig Brewer and is being produced by Eddie Muphy, Kevin Misher, and Kenya Barris (black-ish).
The original Coming to America followed African prince Akeem traveling to New York City undercover in search of a wife. This sequel will follow former Prince Akeem who is ready to become King of Zamunda when he gets surprising news. He has a son in America name Lavelle living in Queens. Akeem returns to America to lead Lavelle in becoming the prince of Zamunda. Amos’ character Cleo McDowell is the father to Akeem’s love interest, Lisa McDowell, who was played by Shari Headley (The Haves and the Have Nots) in the original. So far she has not been confirmed for this sequel. Murphy has stated:
After many years of anticipation, I’m thrilled that Coming to America 2 is officially moving forward. We’ve assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on Dolemite and I’m looking forward to bringing all these classes and beloved characters back to the big screen.”
The Coming to America sequel is set to hit theaters on December 18th, 2020.