Merrick here...


Moviehole says that John Ashton may reprise his John Taggart role in the forthcoming BEVERLY HILLS COP sequel to be directed by Brett Ratner.

You’ve likely already heard that the former (played by Judge Reinhold) will return (and I won’t say what he’ll be getting up to in this one), but you may be surprised to hear that John Ashton’s being coaxed back to play the character he retired after ‘’Beverly Hills Cop II” (1987).
[EDIT]
...Ashton is definitely wanted back for ‘’Beverly Hills Cop 4’’. Taggart might no longer be on the beat (he, as we learnt in the last film, had retired) but he definitely has a part to play in the upcoming Brett Ratner-directed sequel.

...says Moviehole HERE.

From the sound of Moviehole's description, The Powers That Be are shaping BHC 4 into something of a hybrid between the Martin Brest directed original and its Tony Scott directed sequel. At least, that's seems to be the macro goal. What happens after Brett has his way with the film is an entirely different story.