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By 1992, Eddie Murphy was riding high. He had already established himself as a legitimate hitmaker with films like “48 Hrs.,” “Trading Places,” and “Beverly Hills Cop” while still retaining his stand-up bona-fides with “Raw.” John Landis’ “Coming to America,” which Murphy co-wrote and starred in, came out in 1988 and made a blindingly high $350 million at the box office. He was an honest-to-goodness Hollywood star.<\/p>\n
In that position, Murphy could choose whatever projects he wanted. From 1989 to 1996, his choices were varied and intriguing. He starred in high-profile comedies (“The Distinguished Gentleman”), but also more adult romantic dramas (“Boomerang”) and personal projects (“Harlem Nights”). In a weird choice, he made a horror comedy with Wes Craven (“Vampire in Brooklyn”) and sequels to his earlier comedies (“Another 48 Hrs.,” “Beverly Hills Cop III”).\u00a0In the middle of this run of films, Murphy was also planning to star in a big-budget comedy adaptation of “The Green Hornet,” based on the radio drama character invented in the 1930s and famously adapted into a short-lived TV series in 1966.<\/p>\n
Why “The Green Hornet?” Well, the timing was right. Recall that Hollywood, in the wake of Tim Burton’s “Batman” in 1989, immediately moved to make stylized superhero movies based on (or inspired by) classically shadowy pulp comics characters. “Dick Tracy” and “Darkman” came out in 1990, “The Shadow” and “The Crow” came out in 1994, etc. “The Green Hornet” was a deathly serious masked vigilante that Murphy would be very pleased to portray while also spoofing.<\/p>\n
A 1992 article in the Los Angeles Times<\/a> announced that a script for “The Green Hornet” had been completed, written by Don Mancini<\/a>, best known for the “Child’s Play” movies. An anonymous source said that, yes, Murphy was interested.<\/p>\n