‘Sister Act 3’: Everything We Know About Whoopi Goldberg’s Third Nun-Filled Movie

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‘Sister Act 3’: Everything We Know About Whoopi Goldberg’s Third Nun-Filled Movie

Sing it, sister! Whoopi Goldberg is donning her habit once again as nun Sister Mary Clarence in the highly anticipated third Sister Act film. Goldberg starred in the original 1992 Sister Act movie as lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier. After Deloris sees her boyfriend kill someone while living in Reno, Nevada, she enters the witness protection program and subsequently has to pretend to be a nun named Sister Mary Clarence. While in hiding, Deloris (now Mary Clarence) turns the church’s choir around and gives them something to sing about while helping to bring life back to the community. The film earned over $230 million at the box office, quickly leading to a second music-filled movie, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which was released one year later. In the sequel, Deloris is called upon by Mother Superior (Maggie Smith) to slip back into her role as Sister May Clarence in order to help save St. Francis Academy in San Francisco. Goldberg reprised her role alongside fellow nuns Sister Mary Patrick (Kathy Najimy) and Sister Mary Robert (Wendy Makkena) as well as a group of the original ladies from the choir. The second movie also introduced fans to rising stars Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Love Hewitt and more, who played students in Mary Clarence’s music class. [jwplayer lOEpI3Vr-zhNYySv2] Nearly a decade after the first movie hit theaters, a Broadway musical based on the original story premiered in 2011. Six years later, Goldberg was joined by her nun sisters for an epic reunion on The View. During the September 2017 appearance, which featured Najimy and Makkena, Smith called in to share a heartfelt message with her former castmates as she was unable to make it there in person. “I can’t believe this is happening and it was 25 years ago. I would like to say hello to all of the nuns. I feel I must be the oldest nun left. Every single nun was wonderful,” the Harry Potter actress said in a pre-recorded video message. “I have such fond memories of when we did those crazy, crazy films. And we laughed and laughed. I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I send you lots of love and I wish I were with you.” Goldberg looked back fondly at her time as the iconic nun during an October 2020 appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, shortly before revealing that she was working on Sister Act 3. “It’s fun and it feels good,” she said of her time in the habit. “And you know, nobody’s mad. It’s just, listen — bad singing, great singing, OK singing and then nuns. What’s better than that?” Two months later, Disney announced that the project was officially greenlit. Scroll down for a full rundown of how Sister Act 3 is coming along:

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Giving the People What They Want

“For a long time, they kept saying no one wanted to see it. And then quite recently, it turns out, that may not be true,” Goldberg said during an October 2020 appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden, officially confirming the project. “People may want to see it. So, we’re working diligently to try to figure out how to get the gang together and come back.”

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Disney+ or Bust

In December 2020, Disney announced that Sister Act 3 will premiere on its streaming service. The studio also confirmed Goldberg’s return as the film’s leading lady.

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Tyler Perry Is on Board

The House of Payne creator was announced as a coproducer for Sister Act 3 in December 2020. He will join Goldberg and Tom Leonardis behind the scenes of the project.

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Director and Writer Have Been Set

Tim Federle will direct the new movie and Madhuri Shekar will write the script, Deadline reported in September 2021. Federle has already had success on Disney+, creating and working as an executive producer on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Shekar, for her part, penned 2020’s Evil Eye and worked as a staff writer on The Nevers.

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Kathy Najimy Hints at Her Return

“[Whoopi’s] trying to get that going,” the Hocus Pocus star said during an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show in January 2021, noting that she’d be on board to reprise her role. “I like that. No hair, no makeup, no spanks … comfortable shoes. It’s a win-win for me.”

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'Sister Act 2' Cameos?

“Marc Shaiman [the franchise’s composer] is just waiting,” Goldberg teased during an April 2021 interview with Variety. “The nuns are all waiting. Maybe there’s gonna be some of the kids [from Sister Act 2]. Who can say?”

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It’s What the Country Needs

“Whoopi’s really excited. I think that this is just what the country needs,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter in October 2021. “We need that feel-good moment in the movies where you go, ‘Oh, my God, I left there singing.’ That’s my hope.”

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Keke Palmer Wants In

During a November 2021 episode of The Talk, Keke Palmer asked Goldberg for a role in the movie. “Whoopi, I gotta shoot my shot, like I did with Issa [Rae] a little bit ago," she said. "I heard that Tyler Perry is doing Sister Act 3, and I just want you to know that I'm available for the job — any job. I mean, you ain't got to say nothing now, you know, I'll send you an email or something. Just let me know if you need me." Goldberg responded, “I already brought it up. C'mon, Keke.”


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Tyler Perry Gives Fans a Script Tease

“I love the idea of us making this happen but you know, the Hollywood system moves a little slower than I’d like to,” Perry said during a September 2022 appearance on The View. “So we’ve got a good script. We’re off to a great start. We’re just trying to get everybody moving in the right direction so we can get it going.”

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How ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Turned the Tides

"I haven't heard anything formal about [Sister Act] 3 yet, I've heard rumblings of it. I think it'd be a blast of fun. I look forward to the nuns that we were with that are still with us, seeing them again, they were fantastic, so much fun," Najimy said during an October 2022 appearance on The View, later asking Goldberg: "Where is that at? Is that happening?"

The Ghost actress confirmed to her former Sister Act costar that they’d be “getting a script at the end of the month.” Goldberg also revealed how Najimy’s return to the Hocus Pocus franchise helped move things along on the nun film.

"It took a little while, but it's happening. You all helped that happen, I think, because they brought Hocus Pocus back," Goldberg confessed. "They finally said, 'We might as well put those nuns back out there and see if they have any juice.'"

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The Script Is In

"The script came in yesterday," Goldberg revealed during a November 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "I really like it, you know, but it has a whole lot of adults to go through. If they don't get in its way, it could be pretty good."

The comedian asked host Jimmy Fallon whether he’d do a cameo, to which he replied, "Yes, are you kidding me? To be in Sister Act 3? Of course I would do that. I would do anything for you!"

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‘The View’ Cohosts Want In

While talking to Jimmy Fallon about the upcoming movie in March 2023, Joy Behar pitched that she, Sara Haines, Sunny Houston and Alyssa Farrah Griffin “could be nuns also.” Griffin, for her part, said she had “been pitching this" idea and Goldberg agreed saying, "Yeah, we could!"