Tracy Morgan is to star in 'Coming to America 2'.

Tracy Morgan

Tracy Morgan

The 50-year-old actor has joined the cast of the hotly-anticipated sequel of the 1988 comedy movie, and Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones and Shari Headley are all set to return for the follow up.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Morgan will play a character called Reem, a hustler who is the brother of Leslie Jones' character, who has a one-night stand with Murphy's alter-ego Akeem.

As well as Leslie, Wesley Snipes and Kiki Layne are among the new cast members.

The original motion picture saw Murphy play Akeem, a prince from a fictional African nation who travels to New York to try to escape an arranged marriage and find a wife.

The new film - which will feature Hall as Akeem's best friend - will see the prince head back to the US to try to track down his long-lost son.

Craig Brewer will direct the project for Paramount, and Murphy will produce alongside Kevin Misher and Kenya Barris.

Murphy recently said in a statement: "After many years of anticipation, I'm thrilled that 'Coming to America 2' is officially moving forward.

"We've assembled a great team that will be led by Craig Brewer, who just did an amazing job on 'Dolemite [Is My Name]', and I'm looking forward to bringing all these classic and beloved characters back to the big screen."

James will portray King Jake Joffer and Paul Bates will star as Akeem's servant Oha.