Eddie Murphy is bringing back one of his most beloved characters.
On May 22, Netflix shared the official trailer for the upcoming fourth “Beverly Hills Cop” movie, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F."
In the clip, we see Murphy's character, Axel Foley, return to Beverly Hills for another mission after he receives a mysterious phone call from his old pal Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), who asks for his help.
"We got to do something," Foley says determined.
After that, Foley is seen wreaking havoc on the streets of Los Angeles, including damaging city property with a snowplow and driving a truck through a mansion.
The trailer comes after Netflix shared an image of the Oscar-nominated star reprising his role as Foley in the movie.
In the November 2023 pic, Murphy is seen wearing his character’s signature Detroit Lions jacket while his hands are in the air, as police officers surround him and a crowd looks on. It appears as if Murphy is in an overturned vehicle, while a Ralph Lauren store is in the distance behind him.
“He’s back. Axel Foley returns in 2024!” the streaming service captioned the snap on X.
“Beverly Hills Cop” came out in 1984. That movie along with Murphy's roles in “48 Hrs.” and “Trading Places,” helped establish him as a comedy superstar. Not to mention, he also had breakthrough work on “Saturday Night Live.”
In 1987, Murphy reprised his iconic role as Axel Foley in“Beverly Hills Cop II”and 1994’s“Beverly Hills Cop III.” A fourth film was discussed for years.
“They’ve been trying to get ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ together for 10 years, but the script has to be right,” he told TODAY’s Al Roker in 2021 while discussing the release of another long-awaited sequel of his, “Coming 2 America.”
“I told you guys, I’m not doing any more money grabs. I’m not doing any more movies that’s like, ‘He clearly just did this movie for a check.’ I’m not doing any of those.”
Murphy has also said the fourth film came together once a key figure from the first one signed on.
“Jerry Bruckheimer, the original producer, when he got involved and he started developing the script, and he knew what‘Beverly Hills Cop’is supposed to be — when he got back involved, that’s when it all started to come together,” he told Collider in January.
“He put all the pieces in place that were required for us to make a great movie. I’m excited for people to see it,” he added.
What is the new 'Beverly Hills Cop' movie about?
In the new film, Murphy reprises his role as the wise-cracking Detroit police detective who wreaks havoc when he visits plush Beverly Hills.
On Dec. 14, Netflix shared the official teaser trailer for the flick, which offered some insight into the movie.
The trailer opened with a character played by Kevin Bacon (new to the franchise) marveling at how Foley is still on the streets after all these years, a seeming reference to his bad boy behavior.
"Running and gunning — I'm just amazed it doesn't get to you," Bacon says.
After the franchise's theme song plays, the character Jeffrey Friedman, who fans will remember from the first two films as a fellow cop played by Paul Reiser, appears, reminding Foley to be careful.
“I’m gonna be fine. They love me in Beverly Hills,” Foley replies.
At the end of the teaser, fans get a nostalgic surprise when they see Foley sitting in the backseat of a car with Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), who played Beverly Hills police detectives in the first two movies.
“So, how many people have you pissed off so far?” Taggart asks.
“I haven’t pissed off anybody!” Foley responds.
“Fifty-fifty,” Rosewood chimes in.
“Is it that high?” Foley asks in surprise.
Which stars are cast in 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F'?
In 2022, Netflix revealed that Murphy would reunite with his original “Beverly Hills Cop” co-stars, such as Reinhold, Ashton, Reiser and Bronson Pinchot for a new installment in the franchise, alongside newcomers, Bacon, Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige, who'll play Axel’s daughter, Jane.
Murphy says a lot of time has passed since he made the original “Beverly Hills Cop,” noting the latest iteration was a "rough" one to make.
“It was a hard one,” Murphy, 62, told People in November 2023. “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,” he added.
When will 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F' be released?
The movie will be available to stream on Netflix on June 3, 2024.
Drew Weisholtz
Drew Weisholtz is a reporter for TODAY Digital, focusing on pop culture, nostalgia and trending stories. He has seen every episode of “Saved by the Bell” at least 50 times, longs to perfect the crane kick from “The Karate Kid” and performs stand-up comedy, while also cheering on the New York Yankees and New York Giants. A graduate of Rutgers University, he is the married father of two kids who believe he is ridiculous.
Joyann Jeffrey
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