Looks like Axel Foley is getting back to his roots for the upcoming Beverly Hills Cop, which was once titled Beverly Hills Cop 4 but is now going by the shorter title (hardly surprising, given how long it’s been since Eddie Murphy last played Axel). In a statement announcing the approval of a film incentive for Beverly Hills Cop, the Michigan Film Office stated that the movie would be rolling cameras in Detroit and even provided a new synopsis.
There’s nothing too revealing about what the Michigan Film Office found out, but there is one interesting tidbit that makes me wonder just what writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Neme (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) have in mind for Beverly Hills Cop:
The newest installment of Beverly Hills Cop, from the ultimate “fish-out-of-water” franchise, takes Axel Foley, who has been living a cushy life as a Beverly Hills Detective, back to Detroit during the coldest winter on record to navigate the new rules and old enemies in one of America’s most tenacious cities.
During the coldest winter on record? Sounds like an odd detail to include at this early stage but, of course, none of us have read the script, so we’ll just have to wait and see how that aspect of the setting factors into Axel’s latest adventure. Maybe the series update is gunning for a mix of gritty action and silly comedy à la the first Beverly Hills Cop, but with Brett Ratner in the director’s chair, that seems unlikely.
Honestly, if Ratner is involved, we’ll just be lucky if it turns out to be better than the awful Tower Heist. And definitely if it’s better than the rightly reviled Beverly Hills Cop 3. What I’m curious about is whether Beverly Hills Cop will pass the reins from Murphy to a fresh face (maybe Kevin Hart?), so that the franchise can endure after Murphy loses interest.
Beverly Hills Cop is being positioned for release by Paramount sometime in March of 2016.