Coming 2 America director Craig Brewer defends the sequel’s PG-13 rating

Eddie Murphy returns as Prince Akeem in the long-awaited sequel Coming 2 America, but there will be a big change from the original.

While the original was rated R for language and nudity, the sequel, arriving March 5 on Amazon Prime Video, will be rated PG-13.

Some fans have questioned why it won’t be rated R, though director Craig Brewer told the Wall Street Journal why that approach was taken.

Eddie returns: Eddie Murphy returns as Prince Akeem in the long-awaited sequel Coming 2 America, but there will be a big change from the original

Director: Some fans have questioned why it won't be rated R, though director Craig Brewer told the Wall Street Journal why that approach was taken

Director: Some fans have questioned why it won’t be rated R, though director Craig Brewer told the Wall Street Journal why that approach was taken

‘There was always this line that we had to judge with how far we’d go with the comedy. It wasn’t like, “Oh, this better be a PG-13 movie.” If an R-rated movie would work then we would do an R-rated movie,’ Brewer said.

‘I think we still have a really hilarious movie and we do push the boundaries on a PG-13 movie here and there,’ he added. 

‘If you look at the first movie, other than the gratuitous nudity of the bathers and some swearing, it is actually rather wholesome. It’s got a fairytale feel to it,’ Brewer said.

Hilarious: 'I think we still have a really hilarious movie and we do push the boundaries on a PG-13 movie here and there,' he added

Hilarious: ‘I think we still have a really hilarious movie and we do push the boundaries on a PG-13 movie here and there,’ he added

He added that, while they were doing test screenings of the movie with fans, it was during Black Lives Matter protests.

‘The conscience of the country was beginning to shift, and so we asked, “How can we still be relevant to this movie, to be funny but at the same time be sensitive to racial and gender issues?”‘ Brewer said.

‘I don’t want that to scare people. I think we still have a really hilarious movie and we do push the boundaries on a PG-13 movie here and there,’ he added.

Shift: 'The conscience of the country was beginning to shift, and so we asked, "How can we still be relevant to this movie, to be funny but at the same time be sensitive to racial and gender issues?"' Brewer said

Shift: ‘The conscience of the country was beginning to shift, and so we asked, “How can we still be relevant to this movie, to be funny but at the same time be sensitive to racial and gender issues?”‘ Brewer said

Murphy returns as Akeem along with Arsenio Hall as Semmi, James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer and most of the rest of the original cast, with Brewer acknowledging that meant expectations would be high.  

‘I know what it’s like to have people go, “Can’t wait to see it” and then threaten me and say, “You better not mess it up because that movie means a lot to me.”‘ the director said. 

‘My job on set was to be the guardian of what from the original movie can be celebrated, and then what’s going overboard, because we did want this movie to be its own thing,’ he added.

Return: Murphy returns as Akeem along with Arsenio Hall as Semmi, James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer and most of the rest of the original cast, with Brewer acknowledging that meant expectations would be high

Return: Murphy returns as Akeem along with Arsenio Hall as Semmi, James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer and most of the rest of the original cast, with Brewer acknowledging that meant expectations would be high

Brewer also acknowledged that the country has changed quite a bit in the three decades since the original. 

‘We didn’t want to ignore the fact that Prince Akeem in the first movie left the wife that he was betrothed to through his king hopping and barking like a dog,’ he said. 

‘I can guarantee you that would not make it through the third draft of a script that would come through the Hollywood system today,” he said. “There was always this line that we had to judge with how far we’d go with the comedy,’ he added.

Coming 2 America debuts on Amazon Prime Video starting March 5. 

Original: Brewer also acknowledged that the country has changed quite a bit in the three decades since the original

Original: Brewer also acknowledged that the country has changed quite a bit in the three decades since the original

Ignore: 'We didn¿t want to ignore the fact that Prince Akeem in the first movie left the wife that he was betrothed to through his king hopping and barking like a dog,' he said

Ignore: ‘We didn’t want to ignore the fact that Prince Akeem in the first movie left the wife that he was betrothed to through his king hopping and barking like a dog,’ he said