What’s old is new again, isn’t that the old saying? Sylvester Stallone managed to resuscitate his movie career with sequels to “Rambo” and “Rocky”, and Harrison Ford has become, after years toiling in average and below-average movies, an actual Holywood “star” again with the return of Indiana Jones. And now Eddie Murphy is back with “Beverly Hills Cop 4″? Yup, that’s the word. Paramount has already begun work on the sequel, with Murphy back as Axel Foley and the much-hated Brett Ratner in negotiations to direct.

Variety has the lowdown on how the sequel went down:

Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original “Beverly Hills Cop” trilogy with late partner Don Simpson, won’t be actively involved in the new film.

Murphy approached the studio about reviving the franchise that cemented his status as a B.O. mega-star. Par brass were eager to land another picture with Murphy after he finished the Karey Kirkpatrick-directed “NowhereLand,” which Paramount releases in June 2009.

That film was also produced by Di Bonaventura, who is working on the summer 2009 releases “G.I. Joe” and “Transformers 2.”

The studio canvassed a number of directors before choosing Ratner. A writer will be hired shortly.

You know what, this isn’t a bad idea. The franchise has always been known more for Murphy’s fast mouth than credible action scenes. And aging or not, Murphy’s mouth is still fast.

Now the big question is, will Judge Reinhold be able to work out his schedule to do the sequel? Because it just wouldn’t be a “Beverly Hills Cop” movie without Rosewood, that’s for damn sure. One can only hope. As for Taggart — eh, I could do without.