Eddie Murphy says he's going on a stand-up tour in 2020
Eddie Murphy’s busy year just keeps going, with the comedian declaring that he’ll be embarking on a stand-up tour next year.
“Next year, in 2020, I’m going to go on the road and do some stand-up,” Murphy said on a recent episode of the Netflix podcast Present Company With Krista Smith, although he did not reveal further details.
Murphy was recently announced to host Saturday Night Live on Dec. 21, which would mark the first time he’s hosted in 35 years. He’s also starring in the upcoming Netflix biopic Dolemite Is My Name, as the comedian and self-styled “Godfather of Rap” Rudy Ray Moore, who became a sensation thanks to his 1970s blaxploitation character Dolemite. The film follows Moore’s mission to make Dolemite, a movie unlike anything that came before. If that weren’t enough, Murphy is reuniting with his Dolemite Is My Name director, Craig Brewer, for Coming 2 America, which is slated for release in December 2020.
News of a tour may not surprise some fans, as Murphy was rumored to have been in negotiations with Netflix for upward of $70 million to do a series of stand-up specials. The streamer previously made similarly hefty deals with comedians including Dave Chapelle and Chris Rock for their specials, and Murphy’s previous stand-up projects — like 1983’s legendary Delirious —are still among the highest-grossing comedy films of all time.
Murphy spoke about returning to standup back in July on Jerry Seinfeld’s own Netflix series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
“I’m going to do it again,” he said about stand-up, after recalling how the late Don Rickles encouraged him to get back in the game. “Everything just has to be right. You have to get up there and start working it out.”
Related content:
