It's been six years since fans were first given hope that there would be a third installment in the classic Sister Act franchise, and lots has been said about the threequel's development since.
Filmmaker Tyler Perry and Whoopi Goldberg have been the main voices pushing to get the project into production. Although there's no production start date or release date on the horizon, the duo are adamant that the long-awaited sequel to Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit is imminent.
Perry recently gave ET an update on what's going on behind the scenes, during which the filmmaker admitted that the long wait has even gotten to him.
"I'm a little annoyed with how long this has taken me. It's taking so long, like I've done four movies since we started talking about this," he shared. "When I'm outside producing with -- you know, Disney's a huge, wonderful company, but I really want to get this movie and Whoopi really wants to get this movie."
But, as much as Perry and Goldberg would love to jump into production, the filmmaker explained that it takes a lot of work to ensure all the cogs in the machine are the right parts. "Well, just making sure we have the right writers, the right script, the right story, [and] all of those things are so important because it's such an important, iconic film. We want to make sure we do it justice and do it well, so we're willing to wait for the right script," he told ET.
On the plus side, after a few false starts, Perry shared that the team "finally got a great pitch."
"[We got] a great story we're working on that Whoopi's excited about, I'm excited about, the director's excited about, [and] so Disney's excited about," he added. "So we're working on getting that done. Once that's done, we're rolling!"
Scroll on for a guide to everything we know about Sister Act 3, including an idea of what to expect and whether fans will see stars from the previous installments involved in the project.
Tyler Perry Boards Sister Act 3 as a Producer
Goldberg has been trying to get Sister Act 3 into production for years and has been very vocal about trying to bring the original cast back together for the project.
Perry's involvement in the Sister Act franchise came to be back in November 2018 when Goldberg appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen alongside the celebrated filmmaker. During their appearance, Perry suggested a third Sister Act film starring Goldberg and Tiffany Haddish.
"The two of them in Sister Act, that should happen. Let's make it happen," Perry insisted.
Perry spoke to ET in May 2022 about his involvement in Sister Act 3 and how it will honor the original film.
"We are pretty far down the line, and in the script and in the production of it so it's -- I'm really excited for it," Perry said at the time. "It's more Whoopi than anything. I wanted it to be the experience that I had watching both of [the first two films.] I want everybody who watches it to feel that way coming out of the theater, to feel that sense of good in life."
"And as far as Whoopi goes too, because I just want to make sure that she was honoring Dolores and honoring the ladies and the nuns, and what they had done before, so, I'm pretty excited about the script. It's going to be really, really phenomenal," Perry added.
Sister Act 3 to Premiere on Disney+
What started as a conversation became a reality two years later when Disney announced that Sister Act 3 was in production with Goldberg back as the lead and a producer, and Perry producing as well.
"Sister Act 3 is in development! 🎤," Disney announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) at the time. "@WhoopiGoldberg returns to star and produce, with @TylerPerry as producer as well."
The studio also announced that the third film "will premiere on @DisneyPlus" instead of a traditional theatrical release. They did not reveal when fans can expect to watch.
Back in July 2022, Goldberg spoke to ET about the threequel, where she played coy when asked what she could spill about the upcoming film but did gush about revisiting her role and elaborate on how the timing was right. "I've been trying to do this for six years," she said. "I was told no one was interested in this. It takes a minute for people to realize they should take their foot out of their mouth."
Goldberg -- who starred in the 1992 Sister Act original film and the sequel the following year -- went on to share what it's like to step back into the shoes of her character 30 years after the first movie was released.
"It's coming. We gotta shoot it, but it's happening," Goldberg added. "You're never fully happy with a script because one of the things you find is you wanna have the space to make an adjustment if you need to. Sometimes what looks right on paper doesn't come out of your mouth the right way. You have to move it around a little bit but I'm very hopeful people will be happy."
Perry echoed her sentiments during an appearance on The View in September 2022.
"I love the idea of us making this happen but you know, the Hollywood system moves a little slower than I'd like to," he lamented. "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."
High School Musical Series Creator Reportedly Joins Sister Act 3 as Director
In September 2021, Deadline reported that High School Musical: The Musical the Series creator and executive producer, Tim Federle, had been brought on to direct with Madhuri Shekar writing the script. Tom Leonardis reportedly also joined as producer alongside Perry.
Sister Act 3 Script and Plot
In November 2022, Goldberg gave fans an update during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
"The script came in yesterday," Goldberg shared of the musical film. "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."
Last October, Goldberg visited St. Peter's Square in Vatican City and met Pope Francis, which she teased as groundwork for Sister Act 3.
"Maybe, since you're seeing everything, you're figuring out what I'm doing here," Goldberg said in an Instagram video, "but picture Sister Act and all the nuns standing here, waiting for the Pope to come out. Maybe that's going to happen in the new movie. You don't know. You never know, but we are in Rome, and I am in Vatican City. What could I be doing? Why could I be here? We'll find out."
More recently, Perry shared with ET that the team "finally got a great pitch."
"[We got] a great story we're working on that Whoopi's excited about, I'm excited about, the director's excited about, [and] so Disney's excited about," he added. "So we're working on getting that done. Once that's done, we're rolling!"
Whoopi Goldberg Builds Dream Sister Act 3 Cast
The View host has been very open about getting an eclectic group of stars together for the cast, including Lizzo and Keke Palmer, the latter who has made her feelings on being cast very clear.
She's even recruiting OG franchise stars to return for the third film!
Jenifer Lewis, who co-starred with Goldberg in the Sister Act films, expressed interest in returning for a third film during a visit to The View in September 2022.
"You know, we're still going to do that movie," Goldberg told her. "I do everything I can to work with her, because she's fun."
Lewis -- who played a fellow nightclub singer alongside Goldberg -- told the Oscar-winning actress that she's "so ready" to film the movie, and recalled teaching Goldberg how to sing on the set of the first film back in 1992.
"I told Whoopi, 'Look, you just get in this mirror with the two of us, and you just get a hairbrush, and pretend that we're 15 years old singing with Gladys Knight & the Pips,' and Whoopi did it," Lewis remembered. "She sang that little booty off."
A month later, Kathy Najimy made an appearance on The View, during which Goldberg credited the success of Najimy's Hocus Pocus 2 in reviving interest in the long-delayed sequel.
"I haven't heard anything formal about 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, later asking Goldberg: "Where is that at? Is that happening?"
Goldberg confirmed to Najimy that the third film "is happening" and that they'd be "getting a script at the end of the month."
"It took a little while, but it's happening. You all helped that happen, I think, because they brought Hocus Pocus back," Goldberg added. "They finally said, 'We might as well put those nuns back out there and see if they have any juice.'"
While Goldberg has seemingly had good luck with most of her co-stars, she's still working on Dame Maggie Smith, who played the steely Mother Superior in the first two movies.
During a guest appearance on the British talk show Loose Women in 2023, Goldberg shared her case to get the fellow Oscar winner back in her habit. "One of the things that I want to make sure I do while I'm here is I want to let Maggie Smith know that I'm holding the part of Mother Superior for you," she said to the camera. "Because I just can't do it with anybody but you."
Goldberg then promised that if Smith wasn't able to relocate for filming, the production would go to her. "So if you need me to come over here and shoot it and do whatever we have to do, we will do whatever you want us to do," she continued. "Because we don't want to do it without you, Maggie."
Earlier this month, when Sheryl Lee Ralph -- who played Florence Watson in 1993's Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit -- visited The View to promote the third season of Abbott Elementary, Goldberg surprised the star by asking her to potentially star in the third film.
She also asked the Emmy winner to return to the show for an upcoming Sister Act cast reunion thrown by the show's producers.
"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 after the show aired a scene from the second film. "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."
Ralph responded that she "would love to" return for a cast reunion soon, and when Goldberg threw out the pitch for the SAG Award winner to also join Sister Act 3, she emotionally reacted to that as well.
See more on the developing installment in the Sister Act franchise below as ET keeps you posted on all the upcoming news.
RELATED CONTENT:
