Sister Act 3 Depends On One Returning Star And It’s Not Whoopi
Whoopi Goldberg doesn't want to make Sister Act 3 unless Maggie Smith reprises her role from the original.
It’s been nearly thirty years since Whoopi Goldberg split our sides as Sister Mary Clarence in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. In that time, fans have pleaded for a third installment to round out the trilogy, but nothing has come to fruition due to Goldberg’s unwillingness to commit to the project without her nun co-stars. According to People, the 67-year-old actress recently appeared on the Loose Women talk show, and she used her spot to try and convince Maggie Smith (Harry Potter, Downton Abbey) to come aboard Sister Act 3.
Maggie Smith, now 88, memorably played the character of Mother Superior in 1992’s Sister Act and its 1993 sequel. Although several of her original costars have sadly passed away, Goldberg has spent years attempting to get the surviving cast members together for Sister Act 3, including Smith. “I want to let Maggie Smith know that I’m holding the part of Mother Superior for you, because I just can’t do it with anybody but you,” said Goldberg.
The View moderator is willing to do whatever it takes to get Smith to appear in Sister Act 3. “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,” said Goldberg. “But we don’t want to do it without you, Maggie.”
Discussions of a third installment in Disney’s hit comedy series go all the way back to 2013. When asked whether she was interested in appearing in Sister Act 3 during an interview on Watch What Happens Live, Goldberg was initially against the idea. Since so many of her co-stars had passed away in the years following the release of Sister Act 2, she didn’t feel it’d be right to make a third movie without them.
Clearly, Goldberg has had a change of heart over the years. Back in 2020, during Disney’s big Investor Day, it was announced that Sister Act 3 was being actively developed for Disney+. Goldberg was confirmed to star in and produce the long-awaited third movie alongside co-producer Tyler Perry.
In October 2022, Goldberg reunited with her Sister Act costar Kathy Najimy on The View, where she revealed that things were still moving forward on the third film. She also credited Najimy and the success of Hocus Pocus 2 for getting Sister Act 3 off the ground. “You all helped that happen, I think, because they brought Hocus Pocus back,” she said.
Still, it sounds like Whoopi Goldberg isn’t entirely committed to starring in Sister Act 3 if she can’t get Maggie Smith on board the project. On her recent appearance on the Loose Women talk show, she seemed adamant about not going forward with the movie without her former costar. Considering Smith is still quite active in the industry, a return in the third film would likely come down to whether she has any desire to revisit her Mother Superior character.
Sister Act 3 is currently in pre-production and no release date has been set at this time. In the original movie, Goldberg plays a nightclub singer who is forced to take refuge from the mob in a convent. She ends up turning the convent choir into a soulful chorus complete with a Motown repertoire, until the sudden celebrity of the choir jeopardizes her identity.
In the 1993 sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Deloris Van Cartier (Goldberg) returns as Sister Mary Clarence to teach music to a group of Catholic students whose run-down school is slated for closure. Although the script for Sister Act 3 has reportedly been written, there’s no word on where Goldberg’s character is headed next. But it’s probably safe to assume the forthcoming sequel will have plenty of singing.
