Summary
Beverly Hills Cop 3almost broke the franchise formula in a key way and could have transformed it completely. Eddie Murphy had an incredible run of hits during the 1980s, following the success of his acting debut48 HRS. It felt like he couldn’t miss, with everything fromTrading Placesto the critically lambasted fantasyThe Golden Childbecoming smash hits. It was the originalBeverly Hills Copmoviethat cemented Murphy’s stardom, with the film still being one of the highest-grossing R-rated movies of all time.
To this day, Axel Foley remains the star’s most famous role, and Murphy later returned for two moreBeverly Hills Cops. Even ifMurphy himself disliked theBeverly Hills Copssequels, they were both successful. That said,the third movie was easily the lowest-grossing and received the worst reviews. Murphy’s dislike of the third entry made sure that it took decades forNetflix’sBeverly Hills Cop: Axel Fto arrive also.
Beverly Hills Cop 3 Almost Sent Axel Foley To London
Beverly Hills Cop could have become London Cop
In an almost searingly honest 1989 interview withRolling Stone, Murphy saidBeverly Hills Cop 2was “probably the most successful mediocre picture in history.” The star felt the Tony Scott movie just replicated the 1984 original but lacked the freshness. In a 2024 interview onLate Night with Seth Meyers, Murphy walked back his previous critique of the 1987 follow-up by stating “The first two Beverly Hills Cops are really good.” He didn’t sound thrilled at the idea of making a third entry back in 1989 though, even though he was aware Paramount was developing one.
The only reason to do a Cop III is to beat the bank, and Paramount ain’t gonna write me no check as big as I want to do something like that. In fact, if I do a Cop III, you may safely say, “Oooh, he must have got a lot of money!
Cut to five years later, and the John Landis-helmedBeverly Hills Cop 3sent Murphy’s Axel back to California to investigate a counterfeiting operation hidden inside a theme park. There were many other versions of the sequel developed though, with one fromChinatownscreenwriter Robert Towne which followed Axel trying to deal with being a celebrity cop.Another outrageous concept would have paired Foley with Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundeein a bizarre franchise crossover.
According to a 1992 article fromThe L.A. Times,the biggest swerve inBeverly Hills Cop 3’sdevelopmentwould have relocated Axel to London, where he would have teamed with a Scotland Yard detective; Sean Connery was earmarked for this part. Reportedly, there was an alternate pitch that saw Axel, Billy (Judge Reinhold) and Taggart (John Ashton) fly to London to rescue Ronny Cox’s Bogomil when he’s taken hostage by terrorists. It’s unknown how seriously the London pitches were considered, and issues over the sequel’s rising budget kept Axel rooted in Beverly Hills.
$316,300,000
83%
$276,665,036
46%
$119,180,938
11%
N/A
Murphy gave an interview withThe Bobbie Wygant Archivein 1994 that briefly touched on the London pitch, and even revealed Japan was considered as a location too. In hindsight,it was a missed opportunity forBeverly Hills Cop 3not to take Axel to a new localeand see how he fared. Having the fast-talking detective dealing with a totally different culture and clashing with a new set of detectives would have been a fascinating experiment.
Beverly Hills Cop 3 badly needed a new template to work with, and finding Axel in London and clashing with somebody like Sean Connery sounds better than having him running around a Disney World parody.
The issue with the third film is how stale it feels. Murphy apparently wanted Axel to be more of a mature character and tried to sideline the comedy as much as possible. The sequel badly needed a new template to work with, and finding Axel in London and clashing with somebody like Sean Connery soundswaybetter than having him running around a Disney World parody. HadLondon Cop- or whatever the title would have been - been a hit, future sequels could have taken him to other iconic cities.
Tokyo CoporParis Copare pitches that write themselves, but for that format change to have worked, the second movie should have tried it. Given this was the 1990s when sequels played things safe, it’s little wonderBeverly Hills Cop 3didn’t color far outside the lines. Still, considering how little anyone liked the 1994 installment, the studio should have taken the risk anyway.
Murphy’s Hatred Of Beverly Hills Cop 3 Delayed The Fourth Movie By 30 Years
Axel F spent a LONG time in development hell
Beverly Hills Cop 3was meant to be another huge success for Paramount, but instead, it made less than half of the second film’s gross. Its underperformance also signaled that Murphy’s time as the king of R-rated action comedies was drawing to a close, though he soon reinvented himself with family fare like 1998’sDr. Dolittle.Murphy has dubbedBeverly Hills Cop 3as “garbage” and “atrocious” in the years that followedand appears to carry a genuine distaste for it. That’s also whyBeverly Hills Cop: Axel Ftook so long to arrive.
Every Major Character & Actor Returning For Beverly Hills Cop 4
The trailer for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F shows Eddie Murphy and the titular Axel Foley returning. It also shows glimpses of other series regulars.
The first threeBeverly Hills Copmovies are available to stream on Paramount+.
Source:Late Night with Seth Meyers,Rolling Stone,The L.A. Times,The Bobbie Wygant Archive/YouTube
Beverly Hills Cop
Beverly Hills Cop is an action-comedy movie franchise that stars Eddie Murphy as a Detroit cop named Axel Foley who heads to Beverly Hills, California, to investigate the death of his best friend. Foley, a street-smart and intense officer, is constantly observed and (sometimes) reigned in with the help of Billy Rosewood and John Taggart, two other detectives from his department.
