Eddie Murphy to hit the streets in Beverly Hills Cop IV

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t the start of the year, this very website delivered exciting word of a Beverly Hills Cop TV series. The bad news is that there was no joy with commission after the pilot. The good news? A fourth film starring Eddie Murphy as the street-smart Axel Foley is looking more than a distinct possibility.

So, while the network bigwigs were evidently more than a little underwhelmed with the small-screen venture, it would seem that Murphy’s performance in the pilot episode was enough to persuade Paramount to take the gamble on a third sequel. Every cloud has a silver lining, as they say, although try telling that to poor Brandon T. Jackson, the on-screen son of Axel Foley in CBS’s ultimately failed attempt at resurrecting the franchise, despite much publicity and interest.

Regarding the man himself, who has famously born the brunt of some harsh criticism over the last 20 years or so, there was a point when it was thought Murphy would retire from the scene altogether. In an interview with MTV in 2008, and in a style that Axel himself would have been proud of, Murphy not only quashed those rumours, but also spoke of the Beverly Hills trilogy (so far) in a refreshingly candid way: “The first two were cool and the third one was sh***y.” Those of you who’ve seen the third instalment would no doubt agree that the man has a point.

So why risk reputations any further with film number four? It seems that the 52-year-old has unfinished business and a score to settle: “Whatever happened to Axel Foley? He’s sitting in Detroit with his thumb up his ass since Beverly Hills Cop III. Let’s take those thumbs out and make a great movie!” It had better be great though. To quote a song from the soundtrack, the heat is on for Murphy, as well as the franchise, to deliver a knockout.

We were going to try to avoid repeating ourselves with guesswork over returning cast members, but, in keeping with all these remakes that Hollywood keeps throwing at us, we can’t resist just a bit of speculation! There’s actually been no word as yet on any of Murphy’s co-stars making a return, although a villain cast in the same vein as the slimy Victor Maitland – expertly played by Steven Berkoff in the original – would be more than welcome.

Paramount have signed Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec for script duties, but have yet to name a director, so dates for shooting and release are still to be confirmed.