Eddie Murphy to Star as Inspector Clouseau in New Pink Panther Film

Eddie Murphy talks about his upcoming projects in an interview with Today:

I'm preparing a biopic about George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. I'm going to play George Clinton. I've already started with "Shrek 5" and I'm Commissioner Clouseau in the next "Pink Panther".

When asked if the character will continue to be French, Murphy responds:

Maybe. He must be French, but he could also be Haitian. But I can say this much: he is black, that's for sure.

Peter Sellers was the first to portray Jacques Clouseau in "Pink Panther" from 1963, directed by Blake Edwards. A clumsy detective trying to prevent the theft of the valuable Pink Panther diamond. The Clouseau character is a parodic interpretation of Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot and has most recently been portrayed by Steve Martin in 2006 and 2009.