By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — It’s been almost three decades since he first played the oddball cop Axel Foley, but Eddie Murphy is returning to that role next year. The trailer was released last week for the newest incarnation of the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, which will appear on Netflix early next year. Murphy last played Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop 3,” which debuted in 1994. Netflix also announced that the film will make its debut as a summer release. The trailer appeared last Thursday, two days after the streaming platform teased the film in a post shared on X, formerly Twitter. The teaser featured a photo of Murphy in character as Foley wearing his trademark Detroit Lions jacket and simply said: “He’s back. Axel Foley returns in 2024!”
The fourth film in the franchise was supposed to be released many years ago, but ran into multiple production delays and problems. The original, which many still consider the finest of the franchise, turned Murphy into a superstar in 1984. It featured him as a Detroit cop who came to California to investigate a complicated case of corruption and interstate crime. It was also one of the cop-buddy films of its era. Paramount distributed the original trilogy of films, but Netflix will distribute the fourth, with Jerry Bruckheimer returning to produce.
“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley” reunites Murphy with franchise co-stars Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot. New to the franchise are Kevin Bacon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige.
Bacon will portray a special unit officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, while Gordon-Levitt will portray a straight-laced cop who teams up with Foley, according to Empire. Paige, meanwhile, will portray Foley’s criminal defense attorney daughter. The fourth installment is directed by Mark Molloy. It finds an older Axel Foley drawn back to Beverly Hills to investigate the untimely death of a long-time confidant. During his investigation, Foley uncovers corruption within the Beverly Hills police force and teams up with a young officer to expose it.
Bruckheimer told Empire that Murphy and Gordon-Levitt formed a palpable comedic duo. “He gets stuck with Axel and they are hysterical together,” Bruckheimer told the outlet. “Joseph is such a great straight man for Eddie.” Bruckheimer also promised a “brilliant” performance from Murphy. “Anytime he walks on set, you never know what you’re going to get,” he said. “Every day he’s there throws you back to the ‘80s.”
Murphy is currently starring in a holiday film “Candy Cane Lane.” It’s a mix of comedy and adventure, featuring him as a man on a mission to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest .In the process he inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life.
The film is now being streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
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