It took Eddie Murphy 30 years to return to his most iconic character in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley – which might have been a good thing. Murphy's rise to stardom during the '80s was meteoric, where he first broke out on Saturday Night Live before starring in back-to-back hits like 48 Hrs, Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop. Like any movie star, Murphy's stock rose and fell in later years, so when his R-rated comedies began to flag, he had a fresh string of hits with more family-friendly outings like Dr. Dolittle.

https://screenrant.com/beverly-hills-cop-4-eddie-murphy-delays-explained/