Whoopi Goldberg and the Sister Act franchise is feeling Maggie Smith’s loss.

 

Whoopi Goldberg maggie smith

On the 2025 Oscars red carpet, The View  host, 69, gave fans an update on the long-awaited third Sister Act movie and how production has progressed since her late costar’s death.

“I had hoped to get it done before Maggie passed, and we weren’t able to do that,” she told E! Live from the Red Carpet. “But they have they have the script now. So fingers are crossed.”

Smith’s sons, Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin, confirmed the news of Smith’s death at age 89 on Friday, Sept. 27 in a statement via publicist Clair Dobbs.

Maggie Smith arrives at "The Lady In The Van" - Centrepiece Gala, at Odeon Leicester Square on October 13, 2015 in London, England.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” the statement read. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September.”

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother,” they continued.

Shortly after the announcement, Goldberg shared a heartfelt message about her late Sister Act costar on Instagram, alongside an image of the pair on set of their iconic film.

Maggie Smith attends a photocall for "The Lady In The Van"; Whoopi Goldberg attends Shorts: Animated Shorts Curated By Whoopi Goldberg

“Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress,” she captioned the post at the time. “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind.'”

“My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP,” she concluded.

While Goldberg and Smith first worked together on the 1992 film — which also featured Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena and Mary Wickes. They later teamed up again on the film’s 1993 sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. In the films, Goldberg portrayed lounge singer Deloris, who helps turn a nuns’ choir into a worldwide smash, as Smith played the memorable Mother Superior.

This isn’t the first time Goldberg has addressed Smith’s absence from the upcoming sequel.

During a Wednesday, Nov. 6, appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Goldberg shared that Smith’s death had prompted changes in the third installment of the Sister Act franchise.

“We’re having to make some readjustments because we just lost Maggie Smith, as you know,” she said. “And so, we will get it done. We will get it done. It’s just, it’s a shift.”