Beverly Hills Cop 4 Starring Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy will be returning as Axel Foley, a mere sixteen years after we last saw him.On the heels of the successful revival of the “Indiana Jones” franchise, Paramount has set in motion a fourth installment of “Beverly Hills Cop.” Eddie Murphy is attached to reprise his role as Detroit detective Axel Foley, and Brett Ratner is negotiating to direct. Studio is aiming for a 2009 production start and a summer 2010 release.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original “Beverly Hills Cop” trilogy with late partner Don Simpson, won’t be actively involved in the new film.

Murphy approached the studio about reviving the franchise that cemented his status as a B.O. mega-star. Par brass were eager to land another picture with Murphy after he finished the Karey Kirkpatrick-directed “NowhereLand,” which Paramount releases in June 2009.It might be a bit contrived after all this time but I’m sure it’ll be a huge hit.“Isaac,” subbing for Matt Yglesias, observes, “One advantage to starting a series when your star is 23-years-old … is that you can make a sequel a quarter of a century later and he will still be mobile.” True that.