Summary
- Beverly Hills Cop 4, titled Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, is a highly anticipated sequel that will bring back Eddie Murphy as the iconic law enforcer.
- The movie is in post-production, and there have been rumors of test screenings, possibly leading to an earlier release than expected.
- The plot of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley revolves around Foley returning to LA to investigate a corrupt police force and a murder, possibly with the addition of an adult daughter to the story.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley will finally bring Eddie Murphy’s titular ultra-cool law enforcer back for Beverly Hills Cop 4, and after years in development progress on the movie is moving at full steam. The Beverly Hills Cop franchise helped write the formula for buddy-cop action comedies, with Eddie Murphy playing the lead from the very beginning in 1984. Beverly Hills Cop has spawned two sequels so far, with the most recent arriving in 1994. Now, over three decades later, the fourth movie Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is on the way.
Once again starring Eddie Murphy with Mark Malloy in the director’s chair, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is due to arrive on Netflix, as the streamer is teaming up with Paramount to ensure Beverly Hills Cop 4 reaches patient franchise fans. With a cast that includes returning cast members like John Aston and Paul Reiser alongside newcomers like Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon Levitt, there are plenty of reasons Axel Foley’s first cast in over three decades is so highly anticipated.
Most Recent Beverly Hills Cop 4 News
The most recent Beverly Hills Cop 4 news came in July 2023, although there was nothing official confirmed by Netflix on what could be a significant move for the Eddie Murphy franchise sequel. According to a report by World of Reel, insider sources claim that Netflix has been test-screening Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley with a view to potentially releasing it earlier than 2024. According to the report, this is to fill a sudden scheduling gap left by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 is currently believed to be in post-production, meaning that a late 2023 release could be possible since – in theory – no further work would be required from the actors, who are still on strike at the time of writing. While the report suggested that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley has tested incredibly well with audiences there’s been nothing official from Netflix, Paramount, or Eddie Murphy to verify them. If they are accurate, however, it’s possible that the release date of the new Beverly Hills Cop movie could arrive much sooner than expected.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 Is Confirmed
Beverly Hills Cop 4 was first confirmed back in the 1990s. However, this version wasn’t Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. There have been multiple failed attempts to bring a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie to screens, including a version from Paramount that had been slated for a 2016 release, only to be pulled from the studio’s schedule a year later. At one point directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were also attached to a 2020 version of the project, but the original Beverly Hills 4 directors left to work on the now-canceled Batgirl movie.
The version of Beverly Hills Cop 4 that’s due to arrive on Netflix was confirmed in 2019 (via Deadline). The final creative team of Mark Molloy directing with Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten on the scripts wasn’t fully revealed until March 2023, however, despite the new Beverly Hills Cop movie filming in November 2022. The full title of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, as well as the addition of Joseph Gordon Levitt and Taylour Paige to the cast, was revealed earlier the same year, in August (via Deadline).
Beverly Hills Cop 4 Release Date
There is no Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley release date yet. However, the movie is reportedly currently in post-production, with test screenings possibly even taking place. While a 2024 release date is widely believed to be the earliest Beverly Hills Cop 4 could arrive, a surprise late-2023 arrival on Netflix is still possible.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 Cast
The cast of Beverly Hills Cop 4 features a mix of new faces and returning names from the existing trilogy of Beverly Hills Cop trilogy of movies. Grammy winner and Academy Award-nominated comedy and action legend Eddie Murphy (Shrek, Coming to America) is of course back again as Axel Foley, although this is unsurprising given that the hero of the franchise is a titular one for the fourth entry. Joining Eddie Murphy in the cast of Beverly Hills Cop 4 are:
- Judge Reinhold as Lt. Billy Rosewood
- John Ashton back as Sgt. John Taggart from Beverly Hills Cop II
- Paul Reiser reprising his Beverly Hills Cop II role of Det. Jeffrey Friedman
- Bronson Pinchot as Serge, last seen in Beverly Hills Cop III
Joining the returning franchise cast members for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley are Kevin Bacon, Mark Pellegrino, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, and Patricia Belcher in undisclosed roles.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 Story Details
While the specifics of the story are being kept under wraps by Netflix and Paramount, there is reportedly a plot synopsis for Beverly Hills Cop 4. A report shared by Moviehole suggests that the story of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley will see Foley return to LA to investigate a corrupt Beverly Hills police force and a murder connected to them. It’s also been reported that Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley will have an adult daughter.
This has yet to be confirmed by Netflix or Paramount, but many outlets appear to be running with this premise as the plot for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. It would certainly track with previous entries in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. It’s also known that Beverly Hills Cop 4 will be yet another buddy cop movie, so Foley won’t be on his own, and his possible partner could be one of his former franchise compatriots or, quite possibly, the rumored cop boyfriend of his estranged daughter.
