The Big Picture
- Netflix is joining in on the trend of nostalgia-charged movies with the upcoming release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, the fourth film in the classic franchise.
- The first look image reveals Eddie Murphy reprising his role as Axel Foley, who appears to be involved in a confrontation with Los Angeles police officers after a vehicle crash.
- The story of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley will follow Axel as he teams up with his daughter, a defense attorney, to uncover a scandal within the Beverly Hills Police Department. The film will feature returning and new cast members, including Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
With Hollywood seemingly entering an era of ‘nostalgia-charged’ movies, Netflix is getting in on the action with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. While the upcoming fourth film in the classic Beverly Hills Cop franchise doesn’t yet have a release date, Empire has provided a first look at the project, which will feature the return of the iconic Detroit police officer and detective-turned Hollywood sleuth, Axel Foley.
The first look image shows off Eddie Murphy back in the titular role of Axel for the first time since Beverly Hills Cop III was released in 1994. While the image doesn’t provide many context clues, Axel can be seen apparently squabbling with a pair of Los Angeles police officers after appearing to crash some type of vehicle. Even though the image doesn’t offer much in the way of any plot, there are still some details known about the overarching story – Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley will follow Murphy’s character as he once again heads to Beverly Hills from Detroit.
After arriving back in California, Axel will team up with his daughter Jane (Taylour Paige), a criminal defense attorney based in Los Angeles, in order to try and uncover a scandal within the Beverly Hills Police Department. The film will feature a number of returning faces from the series, including Judge Reinhold, Bronson Pinochet, Paul Reiser, and John Ashton. Beyond Paige, though, there will also be some new entrants to the film, including Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the latter of whom will play Axel’s new partner.
It’s Been a Long Road to the Screen for ‘Axel Foley’
Rumors have circulated for years around development of a fourth entry in the Beverly Hills Cop series, with Murphy onboard for a time in the 1990s after the release of the negatively recieved Beverly Hills Cop III . Production on the project was then announced in the mid-2000s at Paramount Pictures, the studio that helmed the first three films. The film was bogged down in development hell, though, and never got off the ground. However, movement occurred in October 2019 when Murphy told Collider that filming on a fourth installment would soon begin. It was announced the next month that production was underway with Paramount licensing the franchise rights to Netflix.
The film is directed by Mark Molloy from a script by Will Beall, Kevin Etten, and Tom Gormican. There will also be a reunion behind the camera from the original films. Murphy produces for his self-titled Eddie Murphy Productions alongside super-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who produces for Jerry Bruckheimer Films alongside Chad Oman and Melissa Reid. Bruckheimer produced the first two Beverly Hills Cop films, and told Empire that Axel Foley “is about the emotion. No matter how funny it is, how much great action it has, it’s all about the heartstrings.”
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is slated to be released by Netflix in 2024. An exact release date hasn’t been revealed, nor is it clear if the film will stream or be released theatrically. Check out the new image below:
