Otay, here’s the deal. For the past few years (at least since 2000’s Nutty Professor II), all humans have been clamoring for Eddie Murphy to get back to what made his comedy work so well: sarcasm, a little edge and Samuel L. Jackson robbing a McDonald’s knock-off with a shotgun.
Now after Norbit and Meet Dave and a few cashed checks, Murphy is taking that suggestion to heart in the most literal way possible. According to Deadline Hollywood, he’s working with Paramount to make a fourth (fourth!) Beverly Hills Cop movie. After CBS passed on the TV version from The Shield creator Shawn Ryan and co-starring Brandon T. Jackson, Paramount (who was on board as the rights holder) hired Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) to shift the character back to the big screen. So this is happening (for now).
Oddly enough, this comes a few years after Murphy claimed to be done with family comedies, ready to get back to edgier material. That probably means they won’t be sending Axl Foley back to Wonder World amusement park.
Not oddly enough, this comes at a time (a year after the Twins sequel rumors) where actors like Murphy have no choice but to dig back into the 80s well. Despite strong turns in movies like Dreamgirls, if Murphy wants to be the headliner, he’ll have to find someone who wants him to wear a cape or hop back into a series whose third installment is celebrating its 20th anniversary soon.
