The Pink Panther Edwards tried again to revive the series, this time by casting Roberto Benigni as Gendarme Jacques Gambrelli, Inspector Clouseau's illegitimate son by Maria Gambrelli, the murder suspect from "A Shot in the Dark." Once again, many former Panther co-stars return – Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, and Graham Stark, and a star of the original 1963 film, Claudia Cardinale. Although intended to relaunch the series with a new lovable inept hero, "Son" failed critically and commercially and became the final installment in the original Pink Panther series. This reboot launches a new series starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau and Kevin
The Pink Panther Strikes Again success. During the film's title sequence, there are references to television's "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Batman", also the films "King Kong", "The Sound of Music" (which starred Blake Edwards's wife, Julie Andrews), "Dracula A.D. 1972", "Singin' in the Rain", "Steamboat Bill, Jr." and "Sweet Charity", putting the Pink Panther character and the animated persona of Inspector Clouseau into recognizable events from said movies. There is also a reference to "Jaws" in the ending credits sequence. The scene in which Clouseau impersonates a dentist and the use of laughing gas and pulling the wrong tooth are clearly inspired by Bob Hope