TM & COPYRIGHT © 1988 BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.(LOS ANGELES) — Coming to America, the 1988 hit Eddie Murphy comedy about a African prince to travels to America to find a bride — naturally, in Queens — officially turns thirty today.
Eddie Murphy plays Prince Akeem, the future king of the fictional African nation of Zamunda. Rather than submit to an arranged marriage, Akeem travels with his semi-trusty aide, Semmi, played by Arsenio Hall, to Queens, New York to find a woman who loves him for himself and not his crown. To accomplish that, Prince Akeem and Semmi pretend to be “ordinary African students.”
When the film debuted on June 26, 1988, Coming to America received mixed to poor reviews. But in the years since, the film found its audience. Now it’s not only regarded as a comedy classic, with lines fans quote by heart, it resonates with fans around the world who celebrate its strong black narrative and nearly exclusive black cast — including future superstar Samuel L. Jackson in one of his earliest film roles — thirty years before Black Panther became a global sensation for the same thing.
black-ish creator Kenya Barris is said to be on board to write the first script for a proposed Coming to America sequel. Of course, Murphy will likely be deciding factor in whether it gets made — he’s said to be involved in the film’s development and is expected to star in the sequel.
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