Eddie Murphy back as "Beverly Hills Cop"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - If Indiana Jones can make a successful comeback after almost 20 years, why not the Beverly Hills Cop?

Paramount Pictures has given the go-ahead for a fourth instalment of its "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise, with Eddie Murphy on board to return to the role that launched his movie career, the studio said on Thursday.

Brett Ratner, the filmmaker behind the similarly themed "Rush Hour" movies starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, is in negotiations to direct the latest "Beverly Hills Cop" adventure, a Paramount spokesman said.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("Transformers") will produce.

The film is expected to begin filming next year for a summer 2010 release.

According to Daily Variety, it was Murphy, 47, who approached the Viacom Inc-owned studio about reviving the film series in which he plays a Detroit police detective, Axel Foley, who ends up chasing crooks in Beverly Hills, California.

The original 1984 film and its two sequels, the last of which opened in 1994, collectively grossed more than $735 million (372 million pounds) in theatres worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. The first movie alone took in over $316 million globally.

The decision to make "Beverly Hills Cop IV" follows Paramount's success with the revival of its "Indiana Jones" franchise after 19 years. The fourth film in that series, "The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," opened last Thursday and grossed nearly $152 million in its first five days in domestic release.

Murphy's last two films, the live-action comedy "Norbit" and the animated storybook satire "Shrek the Third," in which he supplied the voice of a talking donkey, grossed $159 million and $799 million worldwide, respectively, according to Box Office Mojo.

Reuters/Nielsen