Eddie Murphy Says His Iconic Jacket Almost Wasn’t in New Beverly Hills Cop

One of the great things about Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is not only its soundtrack, which is an epic throwback to the original trilogy, but the appearance of Eddie Murphy in his iconic Detroit Lions jacket as well. However, if it were up to the 63-year-old star, that legendary piece of clothing that helped define his character wouldn’t have made an appearance in the movie at all. Murphy returned as Detective Axel Foley on July 3, 2024, in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F after 30 years away from the role, which has thus far proven to be a success, with the film landing at number one on the Netflix Global Chart.

As per The Ringer, Murphy wasn’t too keen about putting on the Detroit Lions jacket once more for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, mainly due to the fact that 30 years had gone by since the last film, and he didn’t think it was appropriate for Foley to still be wearing the same getup in 2024. He says it’s something that he had to be talked into.

“It was surreal when you put it on again and look at it again. They kind of had to talk me into wearing the same clothes. Because I was like, ‘
Why would he have on the same clothes from 30 years ago?
I have the same sneakers?’ And they were like, ‘Can you get your hair the same way? Yeah, you grow a little Afro like you had back then.’ I was like,
‘What the f*ck is wrong with y’all? I’m not doing anything!’
”

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

2/5

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley is the fourth film in the popular comedy franchise starring Eddie Murphy. Murphy returns as Axel Foley in the Netflix film alongside returning cast members Judge Reinhold and John Ashton and Bronson Pinchot as Serge. Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt also star in the sequel as new characters.

Release Date

July 3, 2024

Director

Mark Molloy

As a way to make Murphy understand the importance of the iconic jacket, he says the filmmakers likened it to another legendary accessory: Indiana Jones’ fedora. Murphy says that once they put it in those terms, then putting on the jacket didn’t seem like such a big deal after all.

“They kind of talked me into it. They were like, ‘Hey, listen, this character’s look is kind of part of his whole thing. Axel Foley has that jacket.
It’s like Indiana Jones’s hat
.’ And when they put it like that, it was like,
‘OK. All right.’
And it worked out.”

Eddie Murphy Brought His Improvisational Skills to Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

“That Was Not in the Script.”

As one of the great comedic actors of this generation, Eddie Murphy got his start doing stand-up comedy before making the transition to acting. After his stint on Saturday Night Live, Murphy would go on to star in 48 Hours and Trading Places before landing the part of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop. While some actors tend to stick with what’s written on the page when it comes to their dialogue, such is not the case with Murphy, whose improvisational skills have become legendary.

For the first film, such scenes as Murphy in the banquet room trying to get to Victor Maitland were completely improvised by the star, as was the moment between him and Bronson Pinchot’s character of Serge in the art gallery. Not much has changed over the years, and for Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Murphy continued to keep his co-stars on their toes, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who says one of the film’s biggest laughs was not in the script.

“The premiere [of
Axel F
] was [on June 20], so we got to watch it with a whole cinema full of people. Hundreds of people. And one of the biggest laughs was when I come into the room and he’s talking with his daughter and I kind of do a little double-take and realize, ‘Oh, these two know each other.’ He goes, ‘Have you two had intercourse?’ That was not in the script.”

Related

‘Not Your Finest Hour:’ Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Director Explains That Dig at Panned Sequel

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is taking fans back to the good old days, not just with a dig at the third entry in the series, but also with its music.

It’s those laughs coupled with all the things that made Beverly Hills Cop great, including Murphy’s style, that have helped make the latest film such a hit. As for whether we’ll see another entry in the franchise? Murphy says he’s definitely on board for another one.