Belgian filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are expected to take on directing duties for the unofficially titled Beverly Hills Cop 4, replacing Brett Ratner on the project.
Initially scheduled to begin filming in Detroit in 2015 for a March 2016 premiere, Beverly Hills Cop 4 was taken off the studio’s calendar in May 2015 — allegedly due to problems with the film’s script. The attachment of the new directing duo is the first update on the project since it was shelved.
Deadline reports that Paramount was enamored with El Arbi and Fallah’s award-winning drama Black, about a pair of star-crossed young lovers from rival gangs in Brussels. The studio is hoping to inject some youthful energy into the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, and reportedly believes the pair have a knack for balancing the gritty tone of inner-city drama with the sensibilities of the series as it brings protagonist Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) back to his hometown of Detroit.
Black won the Discovery Award at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015, but the Beverly Hills Cop sequel will be the first major studio release for the duo. The latest script for the film was penned by Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles writers Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec.
Over the course of three films, the Beverly Hills Cop franchise has earned more than $431 million in U.S. theaters and $735 million worldwide. Paramount is reportedly hoping to get production underway on the next film in the franchise later this year, but there’s no official release date set for the film at this point.
