'Beverly Hills Cop 4' Gets the Greenlight
Well, this may be a sign that Eddie Murphy is tired of crap
Lookee here, Eddie Murphy may actually be tired of playing the role of multiple characters in shit movies. Instead he is going to return to a role that made him a name as Paramount has set in motion a fourth Beverly Hills Cop film with Eddie attached to reprise his role as Axel Foley and Brett Ratner in negotiations to direct.
The current goal is to get the film in production by 2009 with sights set on a summer 2010 release.
Variety reports that it was in fact Eddie Murphy that approached Paramount about bringing the character back to the big screen and I am sure the recent success of Rocky Balboa, Rambo and, of course, Indiana Jones 4 played a big role in getting the go ahead.
As for the choice of bringing on Ratner to direct, the article says the "studio canvassed a number of directors" before choosing Ratner, but none were mentioned. Previous Beverly Hills Cop films were directed by Martin Brest, Tony Scott and John Landis in that order.
The first Cop film was released in 1984 with the third installment released ten years later. It will have been 16 years between films should Beverly Hills Cop 4 indeed hit theaters in 2010, but you have to remember it was also 16 years for Rocky, 19 years for Indy and 20 years for Rambo. So it's not like this isn't something that could work.
All-in-all, the Beverly Hills Cop franchise has grossed over $700 million worldwide, but you have to wonder if Eddie Murphy really has the star power of either Sly Stallone or Harrison Ford. It's not as if Axel Foley is a household name when compared to the likes of Rocky, Rambo and Indiana Jones.
I also wonder if Murphy's watered down style (and Ratner's for that matter) will carry over into a PG-13 rated film after the first three were rated-R. Of course, I have yet to mention Live Free or Die Hard, another "fourth" in franchise terms and it successfully went PG-13 from R, but even still, John McClaine remains more popular than Foley. I think a PG-13 rating here would be highly risky.
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