Coming to America Honest Trailer Highlights Black Panther Parallels
The Coming to America honest trailer riffs on the 80s Eddie Murphy classic ahead of the release of its highly anticipated sequel, Coming 2 America. The original film follows Murphy's Akeem Joffer, prince of Zamunda, who travels to America with his best friend, Semmi, played by Arsenio Hall, to find a wife. The fish-out-of-water tale has become a classic film since its debut in 1988 and is one of the first examples of Murphy casting himself in multiple roles in one of his films.
Coming 2 America is slated to hit Amazon Prime March 5 after the streamer acquired the rights to film from Paramount. The film will feature the return of Murphy and Hall alongside original stars Shari Headley, James Earl Jones, and John Amos. The sequel will follow Akeem and Semmi as they return to New York to bring back Akeem's long lost son, played by Jermain Fowler, to take over as king of Zamunda one day.
Thanks to Screen Junkies, Coming to America's honest trailer was released just in time for the sequel's anticipated debut. The trailer riffs on everything from Jones' favorite role being that of playing someone's father, showing clips of Darth Vader and Mufasa, from comparisons of the fictional kingdom of Zamunda to the other popular fictional African kingdom of Wakanda. The film also takes time point out Murphy's desire to play as many roles as possible in his films, joking that the move works 100% of the time 50% of the time alongside a clip of the maligned Norbit. Check out the full clip below:
Of course, the entire trailer questions whether or not viewers even want the sequel. While anticipation is high, it is safe to say that Hollywood has a tendency to revive classic comedies for sequels decades later to mixed results. Fortunately, Coming 2 America will explore more of Zamunda, so it's possible this sequel can avoid repeating the original film's plot by switching up the formula of the classic.
Much of the Honest Trailer's clips of Zamunda are overlaid with clips of the popular 2018 film Black Panther and the comparisons are hilariously accurate. From Jones' King Joffer wearing a cat outfit à la Black Panther to the fact that both bachelor princes in the film, T'Challa and Akeem, are shy around girls, the similarities are striking. The trailer even makes sure to not that the African kingdoms in each film were thought up by a bunch of white guys. The Honest Trailer for Coming to America is almost as funny as the original film itself, so hopefully the upcoming sequel can keep up this energy.
Source: Screen Junkies