Teyana Taylor becomes a sexy gunslinging soldier as Leslie Jones glams up in Coming 2 America

Coming To America is getting a sequel 33 years after its release.

And Amazon Studios released a new set of stills from the film this Friday showing some of the stars joining the franchise for Coming 2 America.

Teyana Taylor could be glimpsed flashing her washboard abs as a sexy gunslinging soldier while Leslie Jones got glamorous in a gold-embroidered gown.

Both are playing characters that were not in the original film but were introduced for the sequel – in fact Teyana was born two years after Coming To America came out.

Teyana was posing alongside Wesley Snipes who plays her character’s father General Izzi and could be glimpsed in full regalia.

The Izzi family have a bit of bad blood left over from the first film with Eddie Murphy’s character Akeem, crown prince of the fictional African country Zamunda.

In the first film Akeem dumps his arranged fiancee Imani Izzi played by Vanessa Bell Calloway who is also returning for the sequel.

Wesley spoke to Vibe and quipped of his photo with Teyana: ‘We’re just paying a visit to the neighbors. That’s all. He’s a diplomat. We were being good neighbors. We didn’t bring coffee, we brought Kalashnikovs.’

‘We’re not playing no games,’ Teyana vamped. ‘I just think my father Izzi wanted to make some things really clear to King Akeem. To make sure there wouldn’t be any more misunderstandings that maybe happened 30 years ago.’

The sequel is based on the premise that while he was in America back in the 1980s Akeem produced a son called Lavelle he only finds out about in the sequel. 

Superior Donuts heartthrob Jermaine Fowler plays Lavelle – with Saturday Night Live alumna Leslie Jones portraying his mother.

The new stills release Friday show Jermaine with his father apparently in the United States, as well as in Zamunda with his mother in local fancy dress.

Tracy Morgan, who plays Lavelle’s uncle Reem, was seen looking distinctly American in a Nautica polo shirt as he stood in what was appeared to be Zamunda.

Another image shows Eddie as Prince Akeem in his homeland enjoying a bit of sparring practice with his daughter Meeka played by KiKi Layne. 

Eager fans finally got their first look at the forthcoming sequel in new images released by Amazon Studios on Thursday.

Coming 2 America arrives March 5, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video. 

The images show a still youthful-looking Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in character as the returning Prince Akeem and his trusty friend Semmi respectively. 

Also seen are James Earl Jones, reprising his role as Jaffe Joffer, and the ageless Shari Headley as Lisa McDowell.

Also returning is RHOBH cast member Garcelle Beauvais, playing Rose.

And in an interview with Entertainment Weekly on Thursday, director Craig Brewer talked about dealing with fan expectations while making the sequel.

‘The conversations that Eddie and I were having was just about, where does Coming To America sit in people’s hearts? Because it’s not just a movie, it’s a cultural touchstone for a lot of people.’

‘You’re going to get everyone’s opinions towards what it is, but we needed to get down to the essence of what’s going to bring people into this movie.’

‘It’s such a nostalgia celebration, especially for people our age.’ 

The movie is a sequel to the 1988 romantic comedy Coming to America, which was directed by John Landis and also starred Murphy, who came up with the story.

The production was a smash hit, grossing $350 million worldwide on a budget of $36 million.

The upcoming film will follow the soon-to-be-crowned Prince Akeem and his trusted aide Semmi as they return to New York City in search of a son, played by Jermaine, that the prince was previously unaware of.

Alongside the Beverly Hills Cop actor, the sequel will feature Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, and John Amos in costarring roles, all of whom appeared in the original film.

Added to the cast of the sequel are Tracy, Leslie, Wesley, and Morgan Freeman, among others. 

The script was written by former Saturday Night Live writers David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein along with Black-ish creator Kenya Barris.

After the success of the initial film, a TV pilot was produced but was not picked up as a show; it ultimately aired in 1989 as part of the CBS Summer Playhouse pilot anthology series.