Hot on the heels of Jerry Bruckheimer’s recent confirmation that Beverly Hills Cop 4 is happening, comes official word from the studio. Apparently, Paramount is pretty confident that the pieces are falling into place, as they have now set a March 25th, 2016 release date for the flick.
We’ve of course known since last year that quick talkin’ Detroit cop Axel Foley would be once more gracing the big screen. His fish-out-of-water antics around the affluent L.A. suburb were the stuff of ’80s cinema gold. Kicking off in 1984, the franchise started strong… until it eventually petered out into sub-par genre slop. Fear not, as this latest go-around is touted to be a fresh reboot for the series, with Eddie Murphy set to reprise the titular role. That’s not entirely an unexpected move by the actor, who hasn’t come out swinging at the box office in recent years.
Hopefully the script, penned by Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle scribes Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, will bear much comedic fruit, as opposed to the laugh-free final feature back in 1994. Brett Ratner (Hercules, Tower Heist) is taking on the directorial duties, and the story will take Foley back to his East Coast roots, with general opinion indicating his son may make an appearance. A possible contingency for carrying on the series, a la A Good Day To Die Hard?
Either way, producer Bruckheimer is stoked about it, as he recently told The Hollywood Reporter:
“Paramount is very excited about making it, Eddie is very excited, Brett Ratner is excited about doing it, so I think we’re moving forward. Hopefully we’ll start end of summer, beginning of fall and get rolling on it. We’re going to take Eddie back to Detroit – he’s going to be in Beverly Hills and we take him to Detroit. So we’re going to have some fun with him, he’s really excited about doing it.”
So, everyone sounds really, very excited about Beverly Hills Cop 4. Are you?