Beverly Hills Cop 4 is reportedly set to begin filming soon. Eddie Murphy became a huge comedy star thanks to SNL and stand-up, but he ascended to true movie stardom thanks to Beverly Hills Cop.
The 1984 release starring Murphy as a streetwise Detroit cop relocated to posh Beverly Hills indeed proved a perfect vehicle for the comedian's anarchic riffing and raw charisma, and went on to gross $316 million. Beverly Hills Cop II followed in 1987 and was also a smash hit with $276 million. An attempt to triple-dip the Beverly Hills Cop formula proved ill-fated however as 1994’s Beverly Hills Cop III grossed just $119 million. But of course since Hollywood never falls out of love with any valuable IP, Beverly Hills Cop IV is coming with Murphy back as Axel Foley. Netflix is producing the long-delayed sequel under a one-time licensing deal with Paramount. The streamer of course previously released Murphy’s Coming 2 America and Dolemite Is My Name, both of which helped bolster the comedian’s recent comeback efforts.
In another a bit of good news for fans, Murphy’s latest early-career revisit Beverly Hills Cop IV is set to begin production soon as reported by THR. The news arrives thanks to an information release from California’s Film & TV tax credit program, which unveiled a total of 23 movies set to film in the state in coming months. The Beverly Hills Cop sequel will shoot in San Bernardino according to the release.
News of Netflix’s deal to pick up Beverly Hills Cop IV was first revealed all the way back in late 2019 when Murphy was kicking off his recent nostalgia tour by returning to Saturday Night Live for the first time in decades. In May 2020, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah reported they were still attached to the film but that there was not yet a script. Then in March 2021, Murphy himself told Showtime’s Desus & Mero that the movie was still going forward but the script was not ready. Murphy assured, “I'm not doing nothing until the script is right."
Given that Beverly Hills Cop IV is now ready to get underway it’s fair to infer that a script has finally been delivered that meets Murphy’s high standards. The original Beverly Hills Cop movies of course were largely fish-out-of-water stories that cashed in on the contrast between Murphy’s cocky persona and his uptight Beverly Hills surroundings. But Murphy himself is much older and somewhat mellower now, so it’s likely some tweaking of the formula will take place. Introducing a younger character who fills the role of “streetwise cop” alongside Murphy's older and maybe wiser Foley would be one way to go. And making the young character female would introduce even more of a twist. No matter what turns the story takes, the main selling point of Beverly Hills Cop 4 will still be Murphy, whose comeback tour has proven to be a nice treat for long-time fans.
Source: THR