Before Eddie Murphy, Beverly Hills Cop was a gritty, muscle-bound action film

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 1984 blockbuster Beverly Hills Cop was originally envisioned as a standard, humorless action movie starring Sylvester Stallone. Stallone’s script featured a character named Axel Cobretti and a finale involving a high-speed train. It took a last-minute casting change and extensive improvisation to create the iconic, fast-talking detective we know today.

The journey of Beverly Hills Cop began in 1977, when producer Don Simpson conceived a story about an East Los Angeles officer transferring to Beverly Hills. By 1981, screenwriter Danilo Bach had pitched a script titled Beverly Drive. The project languished until the success of Flashdance in 1983, which prompted Paramount to prioritize the film. Daniel Petrie Jr. was brought in to inject humor, shifting the lead character to a Detroit detective named Axel Elly.

Sylvester Stallone was initially considered for the lead role, but he insisted on a dramatic rewrite that stripped away the comedy. Stallone’s vision was intense and violent, later described as resembling the opening of Saving Private Ryan. He renamed the protagonist Axel Cobretti and demanded changes that producers found preposterous. Stallone eventually departed the project just two weeks before filming, allegedly to focus on his next picture, Rhinestone. Producer Don Simpson later claimed he maneuvered Stallone off the project by facilitating a trip to Switzerland for a medical treatment.

With Stallone gone, producers turned to Eddie Murphy. Murphy felt the existing script lacked humor, leading to extensive revisions that continued until the very day production began in May 1984. The resulting film was a massive success, grossing $316.4 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing film of 1984 in the United States. While critics like Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert dismissed the plot as idiotic, others, including Kingsley Amis, hailed it as a masterpiece. The film’s legacy is cemented by its inclusion in the National Film Registry and its status as the launchpad for Murphy’s international stardom.

The production faced logistical challenges, including a ban on filming in Beverly Hills after 10:30 p.m., which forced the crew to shoot many scenes in Pasadena. Despite the chaotic development, the film’s blend of action and comedy redefined the buddy-cop genre, spawning a franchise that continues four decades later.

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