There are certain items of clothing that an actor can’t wear on screen without calling to mind, instantly, another character from a famous franchise. One of those articles of clothing would be a Detroit Lions jacket, famously worn by Eddie Murphy when he played Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop II. Specifically, the sequel. He looked incredibly bad ass in it, even pulling off the rolled up sleeves.
It struck me as unusual, then, when I saw Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock character wearing that signature Axel Foley jacket in the Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer. And then, during a screening of the movie, I picked up on a separate reference to the first Beverly Hills Cop. That’s a trend, not a coincidence. So I asked Hardy about it during the Venom: Let There Be Carnage press day, and his answer is in the video at the top of this page.
The other item of clothing that Eddie Brock is seen wearing in the movie is a t-shirt with Mumford Phys. Ed. Dept. on it, which is the shirt Axel Foley wears under his hoodie in the first Beverly Hills Cop. Like in this scene, where he talks himself into a hotel room in Beverly Hills.
And here is a shot from the trailer of Tom Hardy wearing a replica while playing Eddie Brock, the symbiotic host for Venom.
Talking to Tom Hardy during the press day for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, he explained how he and screenwriter Kelly Marcel worked Easter egg references to their inspirations into the film, and because he was a fan of Eddie Murphy, Axel Foley and that franchise, he made sure to honor him by replicating his wardrobe. But when it came to the Detroit Lions jacket, Venom: Let There Be Carnage faced a small obstacle, as Hardy explained:
Actually there was a thing about that particular jacket because it’s the most bootlegged (jacket) since Axel Foley. So we had to get special permission to make a black, special one that I think belongs to the NFL’s Detroit Lions.
Thankfully, the National Football League went with it, and Eddie Brock looks cool as hell as he tries, unsuccessfully, to keep his symbiotic partner in check. Venom: Let There Be Carnage expands on the Venom Universe, bringing in Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) and Shriek (Naomie Harris) while also solidifying Eddie’s relationship with Anne (Michelle Williams).
See the nod to Beverly Hills Cop that Tom Hardy worked into the sequel, and stay for the game-changing end credits sequence, when Venom: Let There Be Carnage storms into theaters (only) beginning on October 1.
