After several years on the sidelines, Eddie Murphy is a Hollywood star reborn. The 61-year-old actor began his resurgence in 2019 when he starred as the titular character in the biographical comedy film Dolemite Is My Name and earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance.
Since then, he has starred in several films but doesn’t look set to stop anytime soon. Currently, the Mulan actor is in talks with MGM to star as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in its reboot of the popular Pink Panther franchise.
The Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news, claims the Pink Panther reboot’s premise "takes a buddy cop movie tone to the proceedings with the Inspector and Panther teaming up for the first time ever on the big-screen." The publication also reports that the film will be a cross between live-action and computer generated.
The Pink Panther reboot will be directed by Jeff, who helmed both Sonic the Hedgehog installments, based on a script by Chris Bremner. Dan Lin, Julie Andrews, Larry Mirisch, and Jonathan Eirich will serve as producers.
The Pink Panther franchise began in 1963 with the release of the film The Pink Panther. It starred Peter Sellers as the titular character and inspired video games, books, and animated series, among others. The films chronicle the adventures of French Inspector Clouseau and his attempts to solve cases that come his way.
By the way, the Pink Panther reboot is only one of several projects that Amazon Studios has in the works after it acquired MGM. According to recent reports, the company is also looking to reboot RoboCop, Legally Blonde, Fame, The Thomas Crown Affair, Barbershop, and other storied IPs.
In fact, the company recently hired True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto to pen a script for its planned television series reboot of the classic Western film The Magnificent Seven.
Murphy last starred in Netflix’s romantic comedy film You People, alongside Jonah Hill, Lauren London, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Nia Long. Before that, he reprised his role as Prince Akeem of Zamunda in Coming 2 America, the long-awaited sequel to his 1988 romantic comedy classic Coming to America.
He is also set to reprise his role in the fourth installment of his Beverly Hills Cop series titled Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley. The film is currently in post-production and does not yet have a release date.
Murphy might also be reprising his role as Donkey in a possible fifth installment of the popular animated fantasy comedy series Shrek. He has also expressed interest in a Shrek spinoff film series centered around Donkey, although there is no telling if DreamWorks will ever pursue the idea.
The Pink Panther reboot is currently in deep development stages.
