Wesley Snipes will join Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in Paramount’s “Coming 2 America,” the upcoming sequel to the cult ’80s comedy “Coming to America.”
Snipes will play General Izzi, the ruler of a fictional African nation that borders the one ruled by Eddie Murphy’s character, Prince Akeem.
The original “Coming to America” followed the spoiled Akeem as he went undercover as a fast-food employee while searching for a woman to take as his wife in place of an arranged marriage. Hall returns in the sequel as Akeem’s friend, Semmi, as the two return to America 30 years later to find Akeem’s long-lost son.
Craig Brewer (“Hustle & Flow”) will direct the project with Murphy, Kevin Misher and Kenya Barris producing. Shooting is set to begin this fall.
Snipes and Murphy will also appear together in “Dolemite Is My Name,” a biopic about comedian Rudy Ray Moore that will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
Snipes is represented by APA, and his signing was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.