Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy returns to one of his early defining roles, a bit older now but just as street-smart. “Axel’s not a kid anymore, it’s not his first time in Beverly Hills,” Murphy told Netflix. “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.” 

Of course, there are a few big changes in store for Axel — for one thing, he has a daughter living in Beverly Hills. “He’s a whole different person with the changes that he’s made in life and his relationship with his daughter Jane,” Murphy said. “That is the emotional hook that you need for these movies. For Axel to get involved, he’s got to have skin in the game.”

Fans, too, have skin in the game after decades of waiting for another Axel adventure. “Anyone that saw the original Beverly Hills Cop, you’re going to love this movie,” Murphy promised. “And even if you haven’t seen it, this movie stands by itself and you can jump right into it.”

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Axel may not have changed all that much, but the Beverly Hills Police Department has undergone some staff turnover. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays young detective Bobby Abbott, the latest BHPD cop to take some Detroit heat from Axel. He’s not quite the type Foley is used to, however.

“Bobby is a new action hero for the 21st century,” Gordon-Levitt said. “He’s emotionally intelligent, an honest-to-goodness nice guy who’s also a really good cop. He’s sensitive, but also tough and can handle himself in a fight, but he’s not overly macho. I was trying to find that balance and see if we could form an action hero that walks that line.”

For Axel, this softer, kinder action hero isn’t quite what he had in mind for a partner. “That kind of guy pushes Axel’s buttons, and that tension makes those scenes between our characters so much fun,” Gordon-Levitt said.

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Jane Saunders is Axel’s estranged daughter — so estranged she doesn’t even go by his surname anymore. Unfortunately, she’ll have to spend some quality time with dear old dad when he arrives in Beverly Hills on a case.

“You’re trying to cast Axel Foley’s daughter. That’s a real challenge,” director Mark Molloy tells Tudum. “I saw that same glint in Taylour’s eye, that infectious spark and energy that Axel has, but also someone who could go toe to toe with Axel, which is a hard thing.”

Paige was up to the challenge. “On the first day I met [Murphy], I was terrified,” she said. “The only way I could break the ice was to say, ‘I watched The Nutty Professor 98 times. I want to talk to you about it.’ And he replied, ‘Oh, OK.’ So I was always mouthing off to Eddie quoting lines from that movie, and he would look at me like, ‘Not again,’ but also cracking up.” Sounds like the Foley father/daughter relationship we’d always pictured.

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Without spoiling anything, Judge Reinhold’s returning fave Billy Rosewood plays a crucial role in the unfolding plot that draws Axel back to California. “Billy has uncovered something that is pretty far-reaching and dangerous for the central characters, as well as a lot of people,” Reinhold said. “He has to be very careful with the knowledge that he has. He’s really on the hunt this time.”

Reinhold — who, alongside Murphy, is the only actor to appear in all four Beverly Hills Cop films — never lost touch with his on-screen BHPD partner, John Ashton. “We’ve kept up over the 40 years, and we enjoy a great friendship. Whenever we go out to dinner, whatever city we’re in, it’s really fun to see people do a double take because it’s like we’ve walked right out of the movie.”

Gremlins, Stripes, The Santa Clause, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Swing Vote, Ruthless People

John Ashton, absent from Beverly Hills Cop III, returns in Axel F as John Taggart, another of Foley’s longtime BHPD liaisons. 

“It’s weird because it just feels like we never left,” Ashton said. “We’ve seen each other at events from time to time but we haven’t worked together in nearly 40 years. But we just reconnected like it was yesterday. We just went right back to it. Working on all the films, it was just always fun and always felt like family.”

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Jeffrey Friedman, Axel’s man back in Detroit, is once again played by Paul Reiser. “It was frightfully easy to slip back into it with Eddie,” Reiser recalled. “I haven’t seen him in a while, but it was very easy to just jump right in.”

Reiser has a unique theory as to the staying power of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. “I assumed it was me!” he told Netflix. “It’s possible it’s Eddie? Eddie has a little appeal as well. But I think people tune in and say, ‘Where’s that guy Jeffrey who was in it for 40 seconds? That’s what we want to find out.’ And I think this movie delivers.” 

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Bronson Pinchot’s scene-stealing Serge, who previously appeared in the original Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop III, is also back in Axel F. 

Thanks to one of his side hustles, Pinchot had no issue slipping back into Serge’s famously indeterminate accent. “It was easy,” he said. “It’s partially because most of the cameos that I do, the request is for Serge, so I do him all the time. One of my favorite things to do — when someone requests it for a friend or loved one and says, ‘Oh, it’s for my 10th anniversary’ or ‘My husband’s 50th birthday’ — is a super serious rundown as Serge of all the things the husband needs to do to be sexy, even though I can’t see the people. Apparently, they always get a kick out of it.”

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Kevin Bacon plays the new police captain at BHPD, Cade Grant. Like the top brass before him, he’s rubbed the wrong way by Axel’s methods. 

Working with Murphy was a longtime dream for the chameleonic Bacon, who shared a similar career trajectory. “We’ve never worked together; this is our first time,” Bacon said. “But obviously, I followed him for a long time, and we both came up around the same time. Footloose came out the same year as Beverly Hills Cop, and so to get a chance to work with him was definitely on my bucket list. I admire him so much.”

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