It seems that Eddie Murphy, internationally famous movie star and writer of acceptable reggae jams, really wants to make that long-rumored Beverly Hills Cop 4. He just doesn’t want it to suck. In a new interview with Playboy, Murphy confirms that he’s waiting for the script to be finalized, because man, that third one really sucked. When asked about the rumor that the fourth film was shooting in March, the actor let loose some truth bombs:
I don’t think it’s gonna happen in March, but it is gonna be in Detroit. And before it happens, they’ve got to get that script right. That movie has to be right. The third Beverly Hills Cop was garbage. Those movies, when I travel overseas, people say [in a foreign accent] “Hey, Beverly Hills Cop! Axel Foley!” They call me that shit. All the movies I’ve done, and they call me that. If we do that movie, it has to be right.
Murphy again stressed that the movie couldn’t be “just thrown together to get a big check. I don’t need anymore of those.” It was left unclear whether he was referencing Norbit, The Adventures Of Pluto Nash, Meet Dave, Imagine That, Holy Man, A Thousand Words, or The Haunted Mansion.
The actor also discussed the failed Beverly Hills Cop TV show, which—despite his brief appearance in the pilot—CBS declined to take to series. The reason seems clear enough: People thought Eddie Murphy was the best part of it, and since there’s no way in hell Murphy is going to be a recurring side character on a Beverly Hills Cop TV show, that was the end of that. However, Murphy does provide insight into the thought process of the average television executive:
“I remember this executive, when we were doing some promo stuff; he came in and said “Hey, can you do ‘the laugh’ [mimicks his own laugh] and then say ‘I’m back?’” I said, “That’s a horrible idea. They’ll think I’ve lost my mind!”
Left undiscussed was the possibility that no one at this point would think the idea of Eddie Murphy trading on his former glory for a quick buck would be crazy.