As Whoopi Goldberg prepares to complete the holy trinity of her Sister Act franchise, one late sister will be there in spirit.
The EGOT recently gave an update on that Sister Act 3 is still happening after her former co-star Maggie Smith previously died at age 89 in September, but the script is currently being rewritten to adjust for her character’s absence.
“We’re having to make some readjustments because we just lost Maggie Smith, as you know,” she explained on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “And so, we will get it done. We will get it done. It just is a shift.”
Smith’s sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin confirmed her death in a statement last month, announcing that she “passed away peacefully in hospital,” where she was surrounded by friends and family.
The actress played Mother Superior in Sister Act (1992) and its sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), both of which starred Goldberg as Deloris Van Cartier, a Vegas entertainer who goes into hiding as a nun after witnessing a mob hit. While at the convent, she helps the sisters turn around their struggling choir, returning in the sequel to teach a music class full of young outcasts (including Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Alanna Ubach.
After years of talks for a third installment, Disney tapped Tim Federle to direct and Madhuri Shekar as screenwriter in 2021, with Goldberg set to reprise her role and produce alongside Tyler Perry and Tom Leonardis.
Goldberg previously offered Fallon a cameo in the upcoming threequel when she appeared on The Tonight Show in 2022, noting a script had been completed at the time.