Axel Foley has returned to Beverly Hills after his daughter Jane and his old partner Billy Rosewood's lives are threatened.

Various directors and screenwriters were attached over the years, including the filmmaking duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, but the project had faced multiple issues and has undergone development hell.

Axel Foley remains a Detroit police detective under the supervision of his friend, Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman.

In pursuit of a group of thieves looting the Detroit Red Wings' locker room during a game, Axel's ensuing chase causes costly damage to the city.

Billy Rosewood, working as a private investigator after having had a falling out with John Taggart, also calls Axel, warning him Jane's life is in danger.

The address Axel found in Rosewood's organizer proves to be a mansion owned by Grant and used as a cartel money laundering operation.

Axel enlists his friend Serge's help to gain access to the mansion by posing as potential buyers of the property next door.

Despite not appearing in the film, Gil Hill (who died in 2016) and Ronny Cox are seen in photographs as Inspector Todd and Chief Bogomil, respectively.

[6] In June 2001, it was announced that Jason Richman had been hired to write a treatment for Beverly Hills Cop IV after executives were impressed with his rewrites of Bad Company.

[8][9] In September 2006, a script, which was an amalgamation of several earlier drafts, was presented to Murphy, who was reported to be "very happy" with the outline, described as an attempt to recapture the "feel of the original.

"[6] Although Murphy committed to the project, it was unconfirmed whether the series' other principal actors, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, and Bronson Pinchot, would return.

"[19] On November 15, 2010, Ratner stated in an interview with MTV that there was still a possibility that they would make a fourth film, but that it wouldn't be "anytime soon.

[24][25] On June 27, 2014, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Murphy discussed returning to the edgier type of character of Axel Foley after years of making family-friendly films.

According to studio reports on the film's plot, Foley would return to Detroit after leaving his job in Beverly Hills, and he will be faced with the coldest winter on record as he navigates the new rules and old enemies of one of America's most tenacious cities.

[27][28] On June 14, 2016, Deadline Hollywood reported that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, directors of the Belgian drama Black, would direct the film.

[29][30][31] In September 2017, Arbi and Fallah stated their interest in casting Tom Hardy or Channing Tatum to star alongside Murphy.

[33][34] On October 1, 2019, in an interview with Collider, Murphy announced that principal photography would begin after the filming of Coming 2 America.

[35] On November 14, 2019, Deadline Hollywood announced that Paramount Pictures made a one-time license deal, with an option for a sequel, with Netflix to develop the film.

[36] In May 2020, after delays in the filmmaking business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Arbi and Fallah confirmed they were still attached as co-directors and that a new screenwriter was working on a new script for the film.

[37][38] In April 2022, Arbi and Fallah left the film to focus on Batgirl (prior to its cancellation),[39] with Mark Molloy hired to replace them.

[48] Principal photography began on August 29, 2022,[42][49] in San Bernardino, along with other areas in California, for 58 days, to generate $78 million in qualified spending in tax incentives.

[50] Additional filming occurred in Detroit in late November and early December 2022,[51] although Murphy himself did not travel to the city.

[52] A December 3 NHL game between the Red Wings and the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena served as backdrop for the prologue, but the team locker room seen in the film was a set.

The website's consensus reads: "Content to let a very game Eddie Murphy bring all the heat, the fourth Beverly Hills Cop coasts on nostalgia but marks a welcome return for Axel Foley.

[73] On June 21, 2024, Eddie Murphy and Jerry Bruckheimer revealed that a fifth Beverly Hills Cop film was already in development.