Hey Yo, Draven here.
Like many past successful franchises, the BEVERLY HILLS COP one just won’t die. While the recent attempt to bring the franchise to the small screen failed, it convinced Paramount that they might be able to milk some more money with a new big screen sequel. They are apparently very serious about continuing the adventures of Axel Foley, as according to Variety, they are bringing Jerry Bruckheimer back to produce the film.
Bruckheimer and the late Don Simpson produced the first two films in the series and a lot of people seem to forget how big those movies were. The first one was one of the biggest hits of the 80’s, grossing $234 million domestically in 1984 (adjusted for inflation that is about $547 million), and the sequel made $153 million in 1987 (adjusted for inflation that is about $320 milllion). The third film did not have Bruckheimer as producer and only grossed about $42 million in 1994 ($83 million in 2013 dollars) not to mention it was universally reviled by fans and critics alike and killed the franchise for at least two decades.
Taking those numbers into account, it obviously makes a lot of sense to bring back Bruckheimer to oversee the development of a potential BEVERLY HILLS COP IV. The next couple of steps is hiring a decent director (although John Landis is decent and BHC III still sucked) and getting a good script together (easier said than done).
No disrespect meant here, but I am not completely sure Eddie Murphy has it in him anymore to really live up to his performance as Axel Foley in the original (although to be fair I don’t think anybody can pull that kind of performance off today). If he can find just a little motivation to give us a hint of what made the 1984 original so special, this will be a success but that is a big if.
There were some other interesting bits in that Variety article. Specifically, they are reporting that Bruckheimer is “helping to develop the script for BAD BOYS III” and is still attempting to get TOP GUN 2 off the ground. All of this is coming after word that Disney has delayed his PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 5, for now.
I honestly couldn't care less about a TOP GUN 2, especially now that Tony Scott has passed away, but I will go to the grave defending BAD BOYS II. I don’t know if there is any point to doing a third one and I know there is no way they could top the last one but if they get Bay back I won’t be able to help myself and I will be excited for it.
Obviously though, this summer’s complete failure of THE LONE RANGER has forced Bruckheimer to return to some of his most popular franchises so these projects have a really good shot at finally happening. Stay tuned.
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