The release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F again raises the questions of whether Axel Foley has a wife and who the mother of his daughter, Jane, is.
Set thirty years after the incidents of Beverly Hills Cop III, Axel F introduces viewers to two new characters: Jane Saunders, Foley’s daughter (Taylour Paige), and Bobby Abbott, Jane’s ex-boyfriend and Foley’s partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).
The plot follows Foley, a police detective in Detroit, returning to Beverly Hills after discovering that Jane and his old partner, Billy Rosewood, are in danger.
Jane’s appearance in the movie has fans speculating over their favorite fictional cop’s love life again.
Janice Perkins has been Axel Foley’s only love interest in all movies so far!
Beverly Hills Cop III introduced a new character to the audience, Janice Perkins, an employee at Wonderworld who later became Foley’s love interest in the movie.
Perkins develops an attraction towards Foley from the moment she meets him if the way she flirts with him multiple times is any indication. Foley and Perkins have obvious tension, and they develop a relationship as the movie ends.
This, however, was Janice Perkins’s last appearance in the saga. Since then, there has been no sign of her existence anywhere in the movie universe, even in Axel F.
Many fans have agreed that it was a waste of an opportunity. This latest installment in the franchise introduces us to Foley’s daughter, and Perkins could have been the perfect character to play her mother and his wife.
On the other hand, Theresa Randle, the actress who plays Perkins, has had an unstable run in show business herself.
She played a part in Bad Boys For Life (2023) after 10 years of not appearing in any role before this one. But she was recast for Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), the next installment in the saga.
One can only presume that she has retired from acting at this point, and that’s why she did not return to Axel F to reprise her role!
Jenny Summers, Foley’s childhood friend from the first movie, was supposed to be his lover!
Another character that fans have been speculating about for decades as a potential wife for Axel Foley is Jeanette ‘Jenny’ Summers.
Jenny (Lisa Eilbacher) is one of Foley’s two childhood friends who also have crucial roles in the plot of the first movie.
She and Foley team up for an investigation scheme when Mikey, Foley’s other childhood friend, gets murdered on his job as a security guard. She even puts herself in danger in the process.
Lisa Eilbacher as Jenny Summers in Beverly Hills Cop (1984) > https://t.co/r09fQIgm0B pic.twitter.com/ydNhbcVWiG
— VIP*GNT (@TheVIPgypsy) February 28, 2024
Like many other characters in the saga, however, she disappears after the first movie. As Lisa Eilbacher retired from acting in 1995, fans have presumed she might not have been available for the role for future additions to the franchise.
But here’s what is most interesting: the writers initially intended for her character to be a love interest and potential wife for Axel Foley in the movie!
When Eddie Murphy replaced Sylvester Stallone for the role, however, the writers scrapped that storyline and wrote it anew.
Given the vital role her character played in the first movie, fans have often discussed why her role was not as important in the following movies or why she did not play Axel Foley’s love interest.
The lack of a romantic subplot, however, begs another question: after four movies, does Axel Foley not deserve to find himself a wife, marry her, and settle down?
Additional Information
- Before Eddie Murphy got the role of Axel Foley, Sylvester Stallone was the top choice for it.
- Empire’s 2008 and 2022 lists of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters rank Axel Foley at number 55.
- Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is currently the number one movie on Netflix and has received better critic reviews than any of its predecessors in the franchise.
- According to various sources online, Eddie Murphy tentatively received $15 to $20 million for his role in the movie.
