Netflix is moving forward with production on Beverly Hills Cop 4, and though word is Eddie Murphy will be back as Axel Foley, the movie just won't quite feel like a true sequel unless Judge Reinhold and John Ashton also return. As previously reported, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life) will serve as co-directors on the sequel with plans for a shoot in California in the near future. Last year, the filmmakers expressed their excitement over working with Murphy.

"When I was a kid, it was one of my favourite movies. It was the quintessential Jerry Bruckheimer movie - a buddy-cop, humour action movie. Bad Boys is a Beverly Hills Cop kind of movie. And of course, Eddie Murphy is an idol," El Arbi told Digital Spy. Bruckheimer is on board for Beverly Hills Cop 4 as producer to work with Netflix on the movie, and there's an option for a further sequel if part four is a success.

It definitely wouldn't be Beverly Hills Cop 4 without Eddie Murphy returning as Axel Foley, the street-smart cop from Detroit who ventures outside of his jurisdiction to Beverly Hills to investigate murders in the previous movies. Murphy's the star of the show and that goes without saying. Even so, two actors who were just as important to the success of Beverly Hills Cop were Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, and bringing them back along with Murphy would be ideal for the upcoming sequel.

In the original Beverly Hills, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton respectively played Detective Billy Rosewood and Sergeant John Taggart, respectively. The officers are assigned to keep an eye on Foley when he arrives in Beverly Hills because of his unorthodox approach to police work.While the officers do not initially get along with Axel Foley, they come to form a mutual respect, and the movie concludes with the trio celebrating a job well done with a farewell drink before Axel heads back to Detroit.

Both reprised their roles alongside Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop II. This time, Axel ventures to Beverly Hills when he learns of a new criminal mastermind called the Alphabet Bandit targeting his old friends in California. Teaming back up with Rosewood and Taggart, Axel and the officers succeed in putting an end to the crimes. As with the first movie, the pair's interactions with Axel made for some of the most entertaining moments.

Beverly Hills Cop III reveals that Taggart has since retired as John Ashton did not return for the 1994 sequel. However, Judge Reinhold was back as a recently-promoted Rosewood, whose new partner is Hector Elizondo's Jon Flint. While Elizondo did just fine as Flint and would similarly be fun to see return in Beverly Hills Cop 4, Ashton's absence in the third movie was certainly felt by fans of the first two. Scheduling conflicts were what pushed Ashton out of the project, so it's not that he wouldn't have wanted to play Taggart once again.

The truth is, Axel works best when he's getting the assistance of Rosewood and Taggart. One part of that equation missing in Beverly Hills Cop III was bad enough, as that's been named as one of the gripes fans have with the third installment of the trilogy. If Rosewood is also "retired" when Beverly Hills Cop 4 begins, it would feel even less like a true Beverly Hills Cop sequel. Clearly, what would be best for the longtime fans of the movie series would be for Murphy to be joined by Ashton and Reinhold in Beverly Hills Cop 4. Let's just hope the project, which is set to soon begin filming in California, can make it happen.