Ronnie: Eddie Murphy, Brett Ratner Can't Agree On 'Beverly Hills Cop 4'

Monday, October 31, 2011

Eddie Murphy, Brett Ratner Can't Agree On 'Beverly Hills Cop 4'

'Tower Heist' director tells MTV News he's 'hoping' to get sequel made, while Murphy seems to have counted out the movie franchise.
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Eddie Murphy
Photo: Getty Images

There seems to be two varying opinions on whether "Beverly Hill Cop 4" will ever happen. Ask the attached director, Brett Ratner, and he'll tell you he wants to make it happen with Eddie Murphy. But the response is ... rather different if you put the same question to the A-list actor.

MTV News recently caught up with Ratner as he promoted "Tower Heist," out this Friday and starring yes, Murphy. The director sounded hopeful about another "Cop" sequel.

"I think one day, I'm hoping, because it is one of the most iconic characters ever," Ratner told us. "Eddie does not go anywhere in the world where they're not like, 'Axel Foley, what's up?' more than 'Eddie Murphy.' It is something that our hope and desire is to get it made."

Much like he did with MTV News, Ratner has spoken on several occasions about his hopes for a fourth movie featuring the legendary Axel Foley, a Detroit cop who finds himself solving crimes in the very posh Beverly Hills.

In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, however, Eddie Murphy tells the magazine that the possibilities for a fourth "Beverly Hills Cop" film are dead.

"They're not doing it," Murphy told the magazine. According to the actor, the proposed screenplays didn't really support the making of a new film. "None of the movie scripts were right; it was trying to force the premise. If you have to force something, you shouldn't be doing it. It was always a rehash of the old thing. It was always wrong," Murphy says.

But Murphy has other ideas for the beloved character. "What I'm trying to do now is produce a TV show starring Axel Foley's son, and Axel is the chief of police now in Detroit," Murphy revealed. "I'd do the pilot, show up here and there."

Ratner himself acknowledged the challenges involved with revisiting the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise. "It's a hard nut to crack, especially since there are three that exist before that. It's a hard thing," Ratner admitted, before adding that the three films allow him to see what worked in the series and what didn't.

Would you like to see a new "Beverly Hills Cop" movie? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!

Check out everything we've got on "Tower Heist."

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