Legendary actor Eddie Murphy is getting in front of the camera once again — and this time, it’s for a really fun role. The comedian recently revealed he is going to be part of an upcoming Pink Panther film in a pivotal role.
“And I’m going to be — I’m Inspector Clouseau in the next Pink Panther,” Murphy casually announced during an appearance on the Today show on July 28. “Yeah, I’m the new Clouseau.”
Today show co-anchor Al Roker went on to ask the comic if he plans on playing the iconic character in his classic French style, to which Murphy responded, “Maybe. Well, he has to be French, but he could also be Haitian. I will tell you, he’s Black. He’s Black, for sure.”
Back in May 2023, it was reported that Murphy was in talks to star in a Pink Panther reboot film with Sonic the Hedgehog director Jeff Fowler at the helm, but it seems that particular version of the film ran into problems getting off the ground. We don’t have any further specifics on the more recent version Murphy mentioned just yet, but only time will tell.
The original Pink Panther film was released in 1963, and Murphy’s role — the silly yet pivotal Inspector Clouseau — was first played by Peter Sellars, who went on to reprise the role for five sequel films. Sellars died in 1980 at age 54, and from there, Steve Martin took on the part for two 2000s sequels. The Pink Panther, a reboot film released in 2006, and it a subsequent sequel, The Pink Panther 2, launched three years later.
As for Murphy, he’s currently working on Shrek 5, which will arrive in theaters around Christmas next year. Additionally, he’s starring in action comedy The Pickup, which hits Prime Video on August 6.
Image credit: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
