It was an emotional moment when Whoopi Goldberg asked Sheryl Lee Ralph to reprise her role in 1993’s Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit to return for the third film in the franchise.
Ralph, 67, appeared on the Wednesday, February 7, episode of The View to promote the new season of Abbott Elementary. Goldberg, 68, brought her to tears when she invited her to join the other stars of Sister Act 2 for a special show.
“Something that’s gonna happen here in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sister Act 2. The producers here at The View are working on putting together a reunion,” Goldberg told Ralph “And we’re gonna try to get as many cast members on to share memories from the movie. Would you do us the honor of coming back? And as soon as we know when it is, we’ll do that.”
“Oh my gosh, I’d love to,” the Emmy winner replied before Goldberg pleasantly shocked her with a request to return for Sister Act 3.
Goldberg continued: “We’re in the process of putting together 3. Would you come be part of it, whatever it is?”
Ralph’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as she exclaimed Goldberg’s name. Before Ralph could answer, Goldberg praised Ralph’s charitable work.
“Before we go, we want to mention that, later this month, she’s going to be honored by the ACLU and awarded the Southern California Bill of Rights Award for all of her incredible work with the DIVA Foundation, an organization that she founded to empower vulnerable communities to achieve better health outcomes,” Goldberg said. “She’s been doing this for the longest time. Congratulations, this is the real deal, this woman.”
Goldberg starred in the first two Sister Act movies, released in 1992 and 1993, as a singer named Deloris Van Cartier who is placed in a San Francisco convent by the Witness Protection Program after she witnesses her gangster boyfriend commit a murder.
In the sequel, she resumed a singing career in Las Vegas and returned to San Francisco to help her nun friends save their school, the St. Francis Academy.
In Sister Act 2, Ralph portrayed Florence Wilson whose daughter, Rita, played by Lauryn Hill, is a student at the school.
After Goldberg lobbied for years to make a third Sister Act movie, Walt Disney Studios announced a third film in the series was in development in 2020, with Tyler Perry as a producer.
So far, Keke Palmer and Jenifer Lewis have signed to appear in Sister Act 3 with Goldberg. Her cohosts on The View have also expressed interest in joining the cast.
In March 2023, Joy Behar said that she, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farrah Griffin “could be nuns.” Goldberg agreed saying, “Yeah, we could!”
