Are you ready for the return of a comedic franchise that literally shaped my childhood? Because I am.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 – otherwise known as Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – is finally on the way, after we were left wondering for a time if it was even still happening. It is the long-awaited sequel to the franchise that further cemented actor Eddie Murphy's career, when the first Beverly Hills Cop released in 1984.
It’s been forever since we’ve seen the star reprise his role of Axel Foley in this funny franchise, and now, we’re actually going to be getting another film. But where is this movie going to be released? Who else is going to star in it? For all the quick info you need, here is what we know so far about the upcoming sequel.
What Is The Beverly Hills Cop 4 Release Date?
At the time of this update, in February 2024, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will release on July 3, 2024, just in time for the July 4th weekend, according to Deadline. This means that it will be released as part of our 2024 movie schedule.
While this franchise, in the past, has been released by Paramount Pictures, Netflix will be the one to release the fourth film, while Paramount is still one of the production companies behind it.
Eddie Murphy Is Returning As Axel Foley
It wouldn’t quite be Beverly Hills Cop 4 without its lead character, and thankfully, it’s been confirmed that Murphy is returning for the fourth film, as shown in this official still of the movie from Netflix’s Twitter.
He has had a bit of a career resurgence in the last few years. While he took a break from acting for a while, he came back strong with his performance in another Netflix original film, Dolemite Is My Name, and in 2021 released the Amazon Original movie, Coming 2 America, a sequel to his 1988 hit, so it’s super great to see him back in action and working on roles that we all know him for.
Murphy even spoke about his time filming the upcoming movie in an interview with People in November 2023, where he said that it was “hard” for him because he is older now, but they got through it:
It was a hard one. I did Axel Foley when I was in my 20s. I am not in my 20s anymore. It was an action movie. So it was a rough one. But we got through it.
Murphy admitted that he didn’t even think another film in the franchise was going to happen due to the script not being right, but in an interview with Collider in January 2023, he revealed that the moment Jerry Bruickheimer signed on for the film, he had to do it:
Jerry Bruckheimer, the original producer. When he got involved, and he started developing the script, and he knew what Beverly Hills Cop was supposed to be. When he got back involved, that's when it all started to come together. Because we tried for years and years, maybe 10, 12 years, and I must have read five or six different scripts, and it was never right.
This just makes me want to see this film even more. Can July 2024 get here sooner?
Taylour Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Paul Reiser, And More Are Starring As Well
While Eddie Murphy is the star of Beverly Hills Cop 4, there are plenty of other stars who are signed on as well. Let’s break it down from the beginning:
Taylour Paige as Jane
According to Deadline, both Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have signed on to star in the film opposite Murphy. Let’s start with Taylour Paige.
Taylour Paige is going to play Axel’s daughter, Jane, and director Mark Molloy spoke about the actress in a Tudum article saying that she had that same “glint” in her eye that Axel’s character has:
You’re trying to cast Axel Foley’s daughter. That’s a real challenge. I saw that same glint in Taylour’s eye, that infectious spark and energy that Axel has, but also someone who could go toe to toe with Axel, which is a hard thing.
Paige was in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Boogie, and in the series Hit the Floor as well as various other projects.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Abbott
Additionally, Levitt will play Detective Abbott, a new partner of Axel’s. Gordon-Levitt has appeared in a variety of shows and fantastic movies, such as Pinocchio and Super Pumped, as well as The Dark Knight rises, Don Jon, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Looper and many other films.
Kevin Bacon as Captain Cade Grant
Also confirmed to be joining the movie is Kevin Bacon, according to Deadline. Bacon will play Captain Cade Grant, according to Tudum.
Kevin Bacon is primarily known for his role in Footloose, as well as several other movies like JFK, Tremors, Crazy, Stupid Love, Loverboy, and many other films.
Previous Beverly Hills Cop Cast Members Returning
According to Deadline, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot are confirmed to return for the sequel, each reprising their respective original characters from the franchise – Billy Rosewood, Taggart, Jeffrey Friedman, and Serge.
They’ve all gone on to appear in several other projects, but it’s exciting to see characters from the previous films come back for something as big as this, and I can’t wait to see what kind of story they tell.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Sees Eddie Murphy Go Back To Cali In The Teaser Trailer
If you’re at all curious about what Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will include, look no further than the teaser trailer. We get our first look at Eddie Murphy returning as Axel Foley, and the high-energy police storyline that he gets himself into while trying to investigate, all while being back in California. Check it out above.
The Fourth Film Will Follow Axel Foley Investigating Corruption Within The Police Force
Plot details have been kept pretty much on the downlow for Beverly Hills Cop 4, but thankfully we do have some sort of idea of what the movie is going to entail – including the premise.
According to Tudum, we know that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will follow Axel working once again in Beverly Hills, but this time, he needs to team up with a new partner and his old buddies to uncover a conspiracy within the police force that connects him to his daughter after her life is threatened.
There’s also some suggestion that the movie might involve a lot of action – some of which Murphy was not eager to do in his older years. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight after the 2023 Golden Globe Awards, Murphy commented on the upcoming film, talking about how there were times he thought he was “gonna die” while filming the movie.
There were many times I thought I was gonna die on the set. I know some actors get into doing that type of stunts and stuff. Before the movie, I said to Jerry, ‘I’m 61, don’t ask me to do sh*t that you wouldn’t ask Morgan Freeman to do. I found myself jumping, and running, and rolling around, and it was a lot.
Poor guy; but at least we can also expect a lot of action in this upcoming film, and I can’t wait to see what they have planned.
The director, Mark Molloy, also commented in the Tudum article that the contrast between Detroit and Beverly Hills is still so “vivid” to this day, which made it the perfect plot device to use for this film:
As we were scouting going from Detroit to Beverly Hills, the cultural contrast that made Axel a fish out of water in the eighties still is so vivid. They might just be the two most opposite places in America.
Mark Molloy Directed The Movie
As mentioned above, Mark Molloy directed Beverly Hills Cop 4, according to Deadline. Though this is Molloy’s first directing credit for a feature-length film, Molloy has directed several film shorts before, such as the Apple at Work – The Underdogs short, as well as video shorts for businesses such as GoDaddy, Nissan, and another short for Apple.
Also reported in the Deadline article is that Will Beale (who has written shows and movies such as Aquaman, Castle, Deputy and more) wrote the script.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 is something that I’m sure we are all looking forward to, and now I’m just hoping for the time to go by quicker so I get the chance to watch this film sooner. Are you as excited as I am?
