Eddie Murphy in talks to star in new Pink Panther movie

Eddie Murphy is in negotiations to star in Pink Panther, a new movie based on the beloved mascot for Owens Corning Fiberglass Insulation.

Should the deal close, Eddie Murphy would star in Pink Panther as Inspector Clouseau. The original movie starred Peter Sellers as Clouseau as he tracks down a notorious jewel thief known as “The Phantom” before he is able to steal a priceless diamond known as “The Pink Panther”. The opening credits included the cartoon panther that audiences have come to associate with the franchise, and sources told THR that this new project will attempt to meld both worlds. The live-action/CG hybrid movie is said to see “the Pink Panther’s live-action crew break him out of his animated prison to do a heist job.“

MGM has been developing a new Pink Panther movie for quite some time. Jeff Fowler, director of Sonic the Hedgehog, signed on to helm the project in 2020 from a script by Chris Bremner (Bad Boys for Life). The original Pink Panther franchise included nine movies, almost all of which were directed by Blake Edwards. Peter Sellers starred in many of them, and even when he died of a heart attack in 1980, Trail of the Pink Panther used deleted scenes from previous movies to include him in the film. The franchise was finally rebooted nearly twenty years ago with Steve Martin stepping into the role of Inspector Clouseau for two movies.

Eddie Murphy will next be seen reprising his role of Axel Foley in the fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise. In addition to Murphy, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley will feature a few more returning actors, including Judge Reinhold (Detective Billy Rosewood), John Ashton (Sgt. Taggart), Paul Reiser (Jeffrey), and Bronson Pinchot (Serge). The film also stars Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Mark Pellegrino. The film will debut on Netflix, but doesn’t have an official release date yet.