Reports: Eddie Murphy to star in new 'Pink Panther'

Is Roosevelt-raised comedy icon Eddie Murphy playing Inspector Clouseau in a reboot of the “Pink Panther” movie franchise?

Multiple trade magazines Wednesday said they had confirmed that Murphy, 52, was in talks to follow Peter Sellers, Alan Arkin and Steve Martin as the bumbling French police inspector in an upcoming MGM film. Emmy Award winner and Oscar nominee Murphy has no social media and has not commented publicly on the reports.

Jeff Fowler (the 2020 and 2022 “Sonic the Hedgehog” films) is set to direct from a script by Chris Bremner (2020’s “Bad Boys for Life,” last year’s “The Man from Toronto”). Still in very early development, the reboot, according to The Hollywood Reporter, would combine live action and animation in order to feature both the inspector and the anthropomorphic cartoon Pink Panther, who originated in the movie’s opening credits and went on to become the star of animated shorts. In the original “The Pink Panther,” a British comedy-mystery released in the United States in 1964, the title alluded to a rare pink diamond.