Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Was A ‘Crazy Opportunity’ For Joseph Gordon-Levitt – Exclusive Image

Three decades after he last graced our screen, Axel Foley is back, back, back. Eddie Murphy is returning to his most famous character in long-awaited fourquel Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F – and he’s got a whole new squad with him. While there are familiar faces returning (Judge Reinhold’s Lieutenant Billy Rosewood and Bronson Pinchot’s Serge among them), expect plenty of newcomers too: Taylour Paige as Foley’s estranged daughter Jane, Kevin Bacon as police Captain Grant. And, most importantly, there’s Foley’s brand new police partner: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Detective Bobby Abbott.

While Foley’s unpredictability is his greatest asset, Abbott is a much more measured presence. “This character is a bit strait-laced – I am an actual Beverly Hills cop, whereas Axel Foley is a cop from Detroit who finds himself in Beverly Hills – but he’s not a simple straight man,” Gordon-Levitt tells Empire. He, too, will get in on the fun. “I also get my licks in. I wouldn’t be living up to this crazy opportunity if I wasn’t going to have a few myself. We got to do some really fun stuff.”

As well as developing an on-screen dynamic together, Murphy and Gordon-Levitt bonded behind the scenes too. “The first time we really started improvising together was in a car. And shooting car scenes, you can’t get out for big chunks of time,” says Gordon-Levitt. “On that first day, waiting for the rig to reposition, we started talking about the song ‘Let The Good Times Roll’. The original version, the Harry Nilsson cover, and then other songs with that phrase in, by Sam Cooke and Jimi Hendrix… Eddie’s kind of a nerd about those things, as am I.” Prepare for an all-new Beverly Hills Cop double-act. Let the good times roll.

Read Empire’s full Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the Deadpool & Wolverine issue – on sale Thursday 9 May. Order a copy online here. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F comes to Netflix from 3 July.