Eddie Murphy is moving ahead with Playas Ball, an undead-tinged action comedy that will place the veteran performer back in live-action territory after a string of voice roles. Industry sources say Imagine Entertainment is backing the project, with Kyle Newacheck (fresh off Netflix’s successful Happy Gilmore 2) in the director’s chair.
Murphy will star and produce alongside Imagine’s Brian Grazer and Jeb Brody, while Charisse Hewitt-Webster represents Eddie Murphy Productions. The screenplay comes from Myles Murphy, marking another familial collaboration after the younger Murphy’s story credit on Coming 2 America.
Plot details remain under wraps, yet early descriptions liken the film’s supernatural angle to Murphy’s 2003 cult favorite The Haunted Mansion, hinting at a blend of broad set-piece comedy and light horror.
The package reunites Murphy with Imagine, the banner behind The Nutty Professor, Bowfinger, and last year’s holiday release Candy Cane Lane. Observers note that the partnership offers a familiar development pipeline while giving Newacheck a chance to shape the star’s first zombie-adjacent romp.
Playas Ball joins a crowded slate for the 64-year-old comic. Murphy is currently recording dialogue for Shrek 5, returning as the motor-mouthed Donkey, and preparing to voice Inspector Clouseau in an animated Pink Panther feature.
He is also attached to Sony’s spy caper Blue Falcon and recently wrapped the heist comedy The Pickup for Amazon MGM Studios. The actor’s renewed output follows the audience response to Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and reflects studios’ appetite for established franchises fronted by globally recognized talent.
Casting on Playas Ball is expected to accelerate once Newacheck completes post-production duties on his current commitments. With financing in place and a finished script, insiders project a late-2025 production start, positioning the film for a 2026 streaming debut. Should the schedule hold, the project would give Murphy his most diverse run of releases in decades, spanning family animation, franchise revivals, and now a ghoulish court-side comedy.
