Eddie Murphy will have some old friends alongside him in Axel Foley, the fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop movie series. While some set images have suggested the returns of some of these actors, Deadline can now confirm the involvement of Beverly Hills Cop franchise stars Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot. With production underway, all four are now currently working on the sequel.
In the original Beverly Hills Cop, which was released in 1984, Murphy appeared as Axel Foley for the first time. The Detroit cop headed to Beverly Hills where he partnered up with Reinhold’s Detective Billy Rosewood and Ashton’s Sergeant Billy Taggart. Both actors would reprise their roles as Rosewood and Taggart in the 1987 sequel Beverly Hills Cop II. Ashton did not appear in 1994’s Beverly Hills Cop III, as it was explained in the film that Taggart had retired, though Reinhold returned once again as Rosewood.
Reiser can also be remembered for appearing in the first two Beverly Hills Cop movies. He played Detective Jeffrey Friedman, Axel’s partner on the force in Detroit. Meanwhile, Pinchot appeared in the original movie as Serge, an art gallery salesman. The character returned with Pinchot reprising the role in Beverly Hills Cop III.
Reinhold had teased his return earlier this month by posting an image of a Beverly Hills Police Department badge along with a photo that appears to be our first look at Rosewood’s return. While not clearly stating that this was for Beverly Hills Cop 4, Reinhold wrote, “California dreaming.”
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley Brings Back Fan Favorites
Paramount Pictures
Mark Molloy directs Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley using a screenplay by Will Beall. The film is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman for Jerry Bruckheimer Films alongside star Eddie Murphy. Charisse Hewitt-Webster and Ray Angelic are executive producing while Melissa Reid will co-produce for Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
There have been attempts for years to get a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie off the ground. At one point, it was developed as a TV series continuation at CBS and a pilot was filmed, though the network ultimately passed on moving forward with the show. Because legacy sequels have been popularized in more recent years, that may have been the catalyst to finally get Beverly Hills Cop 4 moving. Last year, Murphy appeared in another legacy sequel, Coming 2 America, which followed another 80s movies of his, Coming to America.
Netflix has not yet announced a release date for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley.
