Warning: Major spoilers for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F below!

Beverly Hills Cop 5 feels inevitable and should recycle an abandoned concept that the third entry was too cheap to attempt. In a refreshingly honest interview with Rolling Stone in 1989, Eddie Murphy gave his unvarnished opinions on many topics. This includes the Beverly Hills Cop movies, where he dubbed the second movie “mediorce” and seemed adamant he wouldn’t return for part three without a huge payday. Cut to 1994 and Beverly Hills Cop 3 arrived in theaters to terrible reviews and underwhelming box office.

Murphy’s hatred of the Beverly Hills Cops sequels saw him avoid committing to a fourth entry for decades. Thankfully, 2024’s Axel F was worth the extended wait, finding its leading man in top form. It might not have been very original, but the sequel was a breezy good time and has been a big hit on Netflix. Naturally, talk of a potential Beverly Hills Cop 5 is already building, and Murphy already sounds eager to return.

Beverly Hills Cop 5 Should Send Axel Overseas

It’s about time Axel Foley took a holiday

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’s ending saw the title character repair his fractured relationship with daughter Jane (Taylour Paige), and vow to come visit her in Beverly Hills more often. This left the door open for Axel to get caught up in more misadventures in the city, though after four films, it might be time to broaden the franchise’s horizons. To that end, Beverly Hills Cop 5 should send Axel and company overseas.

This would refresh the central fish out-of-water premise behind the series, with Axel having to adjust to a different culture and set of rules while working on a new case. Part of the story could still take place in Beverly Hills, only for Foley to have to take a flight elsewhere. Sending Axel to Japan, France or London comes preloaded with comic potential, and would bring a new dynamic to the series.

If nothing else, it would prevent the next outing from feeling stale. There are only so many times Axel can be called to Beverly Hills to solve another murder before audiences tap out and call shenanigans. Imagining the police in Tokyo or Paris having to deal with Axel’s unique approach to detective work sounds like an experiment the property should try once before Murphy calls time on reprising the role.

Sending Axel To London Was A Rejected Pitch For Beverly Hills Cop 3

Also rejected: Axel becoming friends with Crocodile Dundee

During the long development cycle for Beverly Hills Cop 3, several ideas were typed up and then abandoned. The late, great Robert Towne (Chinatown) penned a version that involved Axel dealing with being a celebrity and a cop, and another would have paired him with the ’80s other famous fish out of water Crocodile Dundee. The most common idea for Beverly Hills Cop 3 was sending Axel to London, and pairing him with a new detective character.

Everyone from Sean Connery to John Cleese was tipped for this London cop role. Beverly Hills Cop 3 suffered through a messy development cycle, where original producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson quit, while megaproducer Joel Silver was courted to replace them before also dropping out. Paramount also became worried about the sequel’s climbing budget, especially since Eddie Murphy was coming off the back of underperformers like The Distinguished Gentleman during this time.

That’s why the London idea was dropped for Beverly Hills Cop 3, which instead saw Axel chasing counterfeiters in a Disneyland-esque theme park. The final film also made a fatal error in hiring John Landis as director. While the latter had helmed Murphy in hits like Trading Places or Coming to America, Landis’ sensibilities were totally wrong for a Beverly Hills Cop adventure, resulting in ill-fitting comedy and awkward tonal shifts.

Will Beverly Hills Cop 5 Actually Happen?

Axel F means the heat is on for another sequel

While Beverly Hills Cop 5 hasn’t been greenlit, that announcement feels like it will arrive soon. Some critics were mixed on Axel F, but the film has been an unqualified success. More than that, audiences are excited to see Murphy back in his most famous role, and proving his star power power hasn’t dimmed. By his own admission, making Axel F in his 60s was much harder than making the 1984 original in his 20s, so there is a limited window in which he’d consider fronting another sequel.

If Beverly Hills Cop 5 proves to be the franchise finale, making a big event of it and sending Axel to a new country seems like a logical direction to try. The nostalgic tone of Axel F made it a pleasant watch, but the next installment would be wise to break away from easter eggs and focus on Axel as a character. The fourth film saw Foley faced with the impending end of his career as a cop, so Beverly Hills Cop 5 should delve into that, with Axel exploring what his life is outside his job.

Source: Rolling Stone