Marlon Wayans wound up replacing Murphy in the lead role, and years after that (in 2014, specifically) Lee Daniels took over the director’s chair.
Mike Epps was cast for the lead in that version of the project, and the project put together a cast including Oprah Winfrey, Kate Hudson, Eddie Murphy, and Tracy Morgan, but, again, things eventually stalled out.
About 11 years ago the Richard Pryor biopic was envisioned as a reunion between Dreamgirls director Bill Condon and Eddie Murphy, with Murphy portraying the legendary comedian, but things have changed a hell of a lot over the course of the project’s development.