Eddie Murphy has revealed the success of Top Gun: Maverick convinced him the Beverly Hills Cop reboot was finally ready to happen.
The screen funnyman is back as Detective Axel Foley 40 years after the original buddy cop flick was released in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, dropping on Netflix on July 3.
He says: “We were trying to develop this movie for 15, 20 years trying to get it right. I must have read a half dozen scripts.
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“And the way it finally came together is we got the original producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, involved.
“Jerry knows his s*** – he did Top Gun: Maverick and he knew the recipe to put it all together.”
(Image: Getty Images for Netflix)
Axel will team up with new partner Detective Bobby Abbott, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
When Axel’s estranged daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige) finds her life threatened, the cop duo have to uncover a conspiracy with the help of returning cast members Judge Reinhold (as Billy Rosewood) and John Ashton (John Taggart).
He says: “Even though it’s a sequel, I’m not that 22-year-old anymore and I’ve had this whole other life and so I can act that.
“Axel at 22 and Axel at 63?
(Image: Moviestore Collection)
“He’s a whole different person with the changes that he’s made in life and his relationship with his daughter, Jane.
“That is the emotional hook that you need for these movies. For Axel to get involved, he’s got skin in the game. All that stuff is on paper first and then I go to the set and do it.”
And Eddie is bringing his own life experience to give a more mature side to the classic character.
He says: “I don’t look at it like, ‘Oh, I’m reliving it and I have to get back into it.
“I’ve played the character several times already, so I know him.
“Axel’s not a kid anymore, it’s not his first time in Beverly Hills.
(Image: Everett Collection/REX)
“At this point he’s been there many times, has friends there and has seen the crazy stuff that’s in the city. He’s not taken by surprise.
“Anyone that saw the original Beverly Hills Cop, you’re going to love this movie.
“And even if you haven’t seen it, this movie stands by itself and you can jump right into it.”
While it was hijacked by the Crazy Frog for an irritating ringtone and single, the Axel F theme tune remains a favourite for 80s fans.
Eddie, right, says: “It’s like having your own James Bond theme. As soon as people hear it, they know what it’s from. They’ll play that s*** at my funeral one day.
“Axel F is definitely part of my s***.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
