During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, Whoopi Goldberg revealed they were making some readjustments in the production of Sister Act 3 after the death of her co-star Maggie Smith.
Smith, who passed away on September 27 at age 89, was set to reprise her role in the musical crime comedy movie. But Goldberg, 68, said the British actress’ passing had necessitated the readjustments, PEOPLE reported.
“We’re having to make some readjustments because we just lost Maggie Smith, as you know,” the EGOT winner said. “And so, we will get it done. We will get it done. It’s just, it’s a shift.”
Goldberg in a previous interview with PEOPLE also said Sister Act 3 was “still on the way” and “percolating.” The View co-host said the team tasked to write the movie’s script was “in the process” of doing that. Asked if the writing of the script was her sole responsibility, Goldberg said “yes and no.”
“It’s hard to do everything,” she said. “And I like to think that I can, but I’ve come to the understanding that I can’t do as much stuff simultaneously as I’d like to.”
Released in 1992, the first installment of Sister Act centers on nightclub singer Deloris Wilson (played by Goldberg) disguising herself as a nun and taking “refuge from the mob in a convent,” per IMDb.
“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.”
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Wilson was more than just a co-star to Goldberg as she was also a cherished friend who provided her with emotional support. After Smith’s passing, Goldberg honored her “brilliant” and “one-of-a-kind” friend in a heartfelt social media tribute.
Goldberg had previously shared a heartwarming story of how Smith’s friendship extended beyond their Sister Act set, which included offering her unwavering support ahead of Goldberg’s mother’s death in 2010, as reported by PEOPLE.
In May, while discussing her memoir Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, Goldberg recounted the moment she learned her mother, Emma Harris, was on life support following an aneurysm. Goldberg was in London performing in the stage adaptation of Sister Act when her brother, Clyde K. Johnson, informed her of the news.
Smith, who was visiting the production, was there to support Goldberg during this difficult time. After receiving the news, Goldberg spoke with Smith for five hours before catching a flight to the hospital. There, she and her brother made the difficult decision to take their mother, Harris, off life support.
“Having Maggie Smith be there, and being able to fall apart and having her say, ‘Listen, my friend. We’ll get you through this. We’ll get you through this. We’ll get you to the hospital so you can get her. Get you back to Berkeley so you can get home,’” Goldberg told PEOPLE in May.
“We were up all night, just laughing and talking about stuff,” she added. “And she had met my mom a couple of times. Just having somebody who got it, who understood, it’s everything.”
