Now that “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” proved old franchises can be easily revived to bring in big bucks, Paramount has confirmed plans for a fourth “Beverly Hills Cop” movie.

Variety says Eddie Murphy will return for the lead role of Detroit detective Axel Foley, who made his first big-screen debut in 1984. The success of the first film provoked two sequels, which all together took in about $712 million worldwide.

This fourth installment in the series does not have a script yet, but Brett Ratner is apparently attached to direct. Looking at what happened to the “Rush Hour” series over the years, I doubt Ratner can make the new “Beverly Hills Cop” flick funnier and more original than its predecessors.

Paramount plans to start production on the sequel in 2009 and have it ready for 2010. Murphy’s latest comedy, “Meet Dave,” opens everywhere July 11, 2008.

I certainly liked the ‘Beverly Hills Cop” flicks, but the idea of resurrecting yet another popular franchise with the risk of ruining it just sounds wrong. Why can’t they come up with original ideas in Hollywood anymore? Oh right, those are the ones that don’t make any money.