Ralph Glorioso
The fourth instalment is set to be released on Netflix in 2024, and the actor would star in it alongside his daughter (in fiction), portrayed by Taylour Paige.
Major studios and streaming platforms continue to delve into the blockbuster hits of the eighties to obtain sequels, reboots, or series to enrich their content. A nostalgia operation that also aims to win over a new generation of viewers, asking the question: if it was a success back then, why shouldn’t it be liked now? And, following this trend, soon, or more or less, it will be the turn of the return of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop 4.
The film is backed by Netflix, it will be released next year, and once again, it stars Eddie Murphy, making it a coincidence that he would resume the role 30 years after Beverly Hills Cop III, which was released in theatres on May 25, 1994.
Behind the scenes is Mark Molloy, in what would be his feature film debut after gaining experience in directing commercial videos for Apple and Nissan. As for the plot, little is known for now, except that the Detroit detective will return to Los Angeles to work side by side with his daughter, Jane (Taylour Paige), a lawyer investigating a thorny case that would affect the Los Angeles Police Department.
Among those who are also returning would be Judge Reinhold as Detective Billy Rosewood, John Ashton as Sergeant Taggart, Bronson Pinchot portraying art dealer Serge, and Paul Reiser as Jeffrey. Among the new faces, we will have Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kevin Bacon, and the aforementioned Taylour Paige (one of the actresses from Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).
And it was the Empire magazine that got the scoop on releasing the first image of this fourth instalment, where we can see Axel Foley already in trouble with a couple of law enforcement officers after a traffic accident.
“Beverly Hills Cop,” directed by Martin Brest, was a completely unexpected box office phenomenon in 1984, especially in the United States. It became the second-highest-grossing film of the year there, raking in $234.8 million, trailing closely behind the iconic “Ghostbusters,” which secured a loot of $238.6 million. However, it did surpass the $179.9 million of “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and the $150 million of “Gremlins,” which were also highly popular and iconic titles. The sequel would arrive in 1987, directed by Tony Scott, and the third instalment in 1994, directed by John Landis.
And while waiting for more images or news, let’s hope that “Beverly Hills Cop 4” is, in terms of quality, closer to the noteworthy “Dolemite Is My Name,” also from Netflix, which practically marked the resurgence of Eddie Murphy, rather than “Coming 2 America,” the mediocre sequel to another of the actor and comedian’s most popular comedies, “Coming to America” from 1988, released on Prime Video in March 2021.
What is easy it is to surpass the failed attempt to create a series by CBS in 2013. In that series, Murphy only made a cameo appearance, while the spotlight was on Axel’s “son,” Aaron Foley, played by Brandon T. Jackson (Tropic Thunder). However, the attempt ended there, with only one episode that didn’t even air. Tucked away in the drawer of forgetfulness, CBS decided to rescue it by making it available online in December 2022.
