The Iconic Eddie Murphy Action Comedy Almost Starred Rocky
One of Eddie Murphy’s best and most iconic comedies is undoubtedly Beverly Hills Cop, but Murphy wasn’t the first one offered the role of Axel Foley. The production of the now-classic action buddy comedy went along a few strange paths, including one where Sylvester Stallone was almost the star. You can now stream the movie on Paramount+ if you want to revisit the comedy classic, but it’s also worth knowing the production story behind it to add even more to your watching experience.
The Eddie Murphy comedy Beverly Hills Cop is streaming on Paramount+.
Beverly Hills Cop stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a Detroit cop who heads to Beverly Hills to solve the murder of his best friend. The film was directed by Martin Brest and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. from a story he co-wrote with Danilo Bach. Along with Murphy, the film starred Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, Paul Reiser, and Jonathan Banks.
Before Eddie Murphy was tapped to star in Beverly Hills Cop, the role was first offered to Mickey Rourke. While Rourke had a holding contract, he would eventually leave the film to work on other projects when script revisions and the pre-production process took longer than expected. The role was also offered to Sylvester Stallone.
A further bonkers rewrite involved Sylvester Stallone’s character playing chicken with a train while driving a Lamborghini.
If it’s hard to imagine Sylvester Stallone leading a comedy that would eventually star Eddie Murphy, you wouldn’t be the only one to think so because Sly himself started heavily changing the script.
Stallone completely rewrote the script, taking out the humor and turning the film into a basic action flick. Stallone even compared the film to the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan when the soldiers storm the beaches of Normandy.
A further bonkers rewrite involved Sylvester Stallone’s character playing chicken with a train while driving a Lamborghini. Obviously, the complete tonal difference between Stallone’s script and the original led to the producers seeking someone different for the project, since Stallone was unwilling to budge on the rewrites.
While Eddie Murphy ended up taking the role eventually, Harrison Ford, Richard Pryor, Al Pacino, and James Caan were apparently considered for the part as well.
Again, it’s hard to imagine anyone else other than Eddie Murphy in the role, and it turned out that everything worked out for the best. Sylvester Stallone even got to make his insane movie with 1986’s Cobra, which took most of his ideas from his Beverly Hills Cops rewrites.
That film is insane, as you might expect it to be, and is actually available to stream on Max if you think Cobra sounds like a worthwhile film to check out.
Eddie Murphy’s version of Beverly Hills Cop ended up being a massive success and earned $234 million at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing film released that year. In fact, adjusted for inflation, it is the third highest-grossing R-rated film of all time behind The Exorcist and The Godfather. Naturally, the success of the film would lead to several sequels.
Eddie Murphy would return to the role of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop II and Beverly Hills Cop III, which didn’t have nearly the same amount of production troubles as the first film.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley
However, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, the planned fourth film of the franchise, has had a long, long road to production that easily eclipses the troubles of the original. The fourth film was announced way back in the mid-90s, and we’re just now getting close to a release date.
Eddie Murphy is set to return in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley, but the film has undergone multiple director and writer changes over the years. Brett Ratner was attached to direct at one point before Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were attached as co-directors. Finally, Mark Malloy signed on officially as director, with Will Beall writing the screenplay.
Eddie Murphy is confirmed to return along with Paul Reiser, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Bronson Pinchot. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige were also cast in the film. The film is reportedly in post-production and will likely hit Netflix sometime in 2024.
While there’s no official release date for the fourth film, you can always watch Eddie Murphy in the original Beverly Hills Cop on Paramount+. Make sure to check out Cobra too if you want to see what could have been, and be thankful that it wasn’t. We’ll keep you updated on the fourth film in the franchise in the meantime.
