‘Beverly Hills Cop 4’ pulled from release schedule

In news that will surely please haters of ‘80s reboots, Paramount have removed Beverly Hills Cop 4 from their forthcoming slate.

The action comedy sequel was originally set for release on March 25, 2016, but the studio has opted to pull it, with no word on whether the film will still make it into production.

Eddie Murphy was set to return as fast-talking cop Axel Foley in a script that would have seen him return to his native Detroit. Brett Ratner, who previously directed Murphy in Tower Heist, was set to direct while Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec, best known for penning the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, were on writing duties.

If the film had opened on the original date, it would have been up against Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which, given its similar target audience, would have surely swallowed the majority of the box office.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in January, Murphy spoke about script problems, which may have prompted Paramount’s decision.

“They are still trying to get that script right,” he said. “I’m not doing a Beverly Hills Cop unless they have a really incredible script. I’ve read a couple things that look like they can make some paper, but I’m not doing a [expletive] movie just to make some paper. The [expletive] got to be right.”

The franchise was originally set to become a TV show, with a pilot being produced that focused on Axel Foley’s son and featuring a cameo appearance by Murphy himself, but the project was canned.

Beverly Hills Cop was a sleeper hit at the time and made $234 million (Dh859 million) worldwide, but the third entry, released 10 years after the first film, managed only $42 million. Murphy will next be seen in drama Cook.