It’s a daunting task to try and encapsulate the true power of Eddie Murphy‘s career. It began in earnest when Eddie Murphy joined the cast of TV series Saturday Night Live in 1980 when he was just 19 years old.
He fast became one of the most popular cast members on the show, and would even become the first member to host an episode during his tenure as one of the players. Soon, he was starring in a series of some of the best comedy movies ever made. One of these early features was the ‘80s movie Beverly Hills Cop.
In the action movie, he played Axel Foley, a street-wise Detroit police offer to winds up traveling to California and working with their police force in order to solve the murder of his best friend.
It proved to be a wild success and would go on to stay in number one in the US for thirteen consecutive weeks. Over time, it’s gone on to earn $234.7 million at the box office. Now, a Beverly Hills Cop 4 is in the works at Netflix, and will see Murphy return to the role of Axel Foley sometime in 2024.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for this buddy cop franchise. Due to the shocking success of the first movie, a second followed and eventually resulted in the ill-fated Beverly Hills Cop III.
Murphy famously wasn’t enthused about the idea of returning for a third installment, especially when he began to clash with the director John Landis. Landis, who had worked with Murphy on Coming to America and Trading Places, joined the franchise to work on Beverly Hills Cop III.
The on-set environment was reportedly incredibly hostile, with the two creatives bumping heads at every opportunity. Ultimately, the movie ended up failing miserably, being critically panned and becoming widely regarded as one of the worst movies in Murphy’s career.
Even the actor himself acknowledges the lack of comedic value and engagement in the film. In an interview with Playboy, when discussing the upcoming Beverly Hills Cop 4 movie, he made mention of his strong feelings towards the third.
“They’ve got to get that script right,” he said. “That movie has to be right. The third Beverly Hills Cop was garbage. Those movies, when I travel overseas, people say [in a foreign accent] “Hey, Beverly Hills Cop! Axel Foley!” They call me that shit. All the movies I’ve done, and they call me that. If we do that movie, it has to be right. Not just thrown together to get a big check. I don’t need any more of those.”
Fingers crossed BHC4 will be able to bring back some of the fondness for the original trilogy!
If you’re a Murphy fan, find out why Eddie Murphy quit this Star Trek movie after making one demand, and why Eddie Murphy turned down one of the best movies ever. You can also check out our lists of the best comedy series and best ’90s movies, and take a look at all the new movies coming out this year.