The Return of the Pink Panther The Return of the Pink Panther The Return of the Pink Panther is a 1975 comedy film and the fourth film in The Pink Panther series. The film stars Peter Sellers, returning to the role of Inspector Clouseau, for the first time since "A Shot in the Dark" (1964), after having declined to reprise the role in "Inspector Clouseau" (1968). The film was a commercial hit and revived the previously dormant series. Herbert Lom reprises his role as Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus from "A Shot in the Dark"; he remained a regular thereafter. The character of Sir Charles Lytton, the
Curse of the Pink Panther sued Edwards for alleged fraudulent overspending in 1984. Shortly after this, Edwards sued MGM for defamation of character. The lawsuits combined for over $1 billion. After much legal wrangling, they were settled out of court in 1988. Wass' option for several sequels was never taken up, though Edwards did start planning what would become "Son of the Pink Panther" around the time of the settlement – but MGM wasn't interested. They went ahead with a TV Movie in 1989 called "The New Pink Panther". Gary Nelson directed Charlie Schlatter as a wise-guy TV reporter investigating an arsonist. Schlatter teams up