Eddie Murphy is Back on Duty as Wisecracking ‘Axel F’ in ‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’

It’s been almost 40 years since a young Saturday Night Live player broke into motion pictures in a very big way. Eddie Murphy was 23 years old when he introduced audiences to jocular Detroit cop Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. Decades later, the actor is reprising his role in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, due next summer on Netflix.

The original 1984 Beverly Hills Cop was a breakout hit for Paramount Pictures, becoming the highest-grossing title at the domestic box office that year. Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr.’s screenplay even earned the movie an Oscar nomination, a rarity for comedies. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) and Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) followed, but a fourth installment of the franchise never got off the ground. After floundering at Paramount for decades, the project finally went to Netflix in 2019.

Will the original cast return?

We are pleased to report that all of the major players from the first films are reporting for duty on Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. In addition to Murphy, Judge Reinhold returns as Lt. Billy Rosewood and John Ashton is Sgt. John Taggart. Not only that, but fan favorite (and infinitely quotable) Bronson Pinchot will reprise his role as Serge, and Paul Reiser comes back as Det. Jeffrey Friedman.

The new cast members are equally exciting. Kevin Bacon joins the cast as Capt. Grant and Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Det. Bobby Abbott, Foley’s new partner. Taylour Paige stars as Foley’s estranged daughter, Jane.

What’s it about?

Axel returns to Beverly Hills as a fish out of water once more, this time after his criminal defense attorney daughter Jane’s life is threatened. After looking up his old friends Rosewood and Taggart, the Detroit cop must use his detective skills to uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything he loves.

This script, written by Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten, was a long time coming. It took the return of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original movie, to finally get the project off the ground after years of stagnation. During an interview with Collider, Murphy said Bruckheimer “knew what Beverly Hills Cop is supposed to be, when he got back involved that’s when it all started to come together.”

“We tried for years and years, maybe 10, 12 years—and I must have read five or six different scripts, and it was never right …” Murphy continued. “Jerry Bruckheimer got back in there [….] He put all the pieces in place that were required for us to make a great movie. I’m really excited for people to see it.”

Mark Molloy directs the project, which has Murphy returning to a highly physical role for the first time in decades. The actor told People that shooting an action movie at 62 is definitely not as easy as it once was. “It was a hard one,” he said. “I did Axel Foley when I was in my 20s. I am not in my 20s anymore.”

Could have fooled us! Check out Murphy’s moves in the trailer.

Okay we’re excited now! Let’s all do the Neutron Dance, because The Heat Is On once again.

If you need a refresher on this classic ’80s comedy, you can watch the original Beverly Hills Cop, currently streaming on Netflix. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is coming to Netflix sometime in summer 2024.

(featured image: Netflix)