Mel Gibson Confirmed His Lethal Weapon 5 Plans And They’re More Than Fans Expected
Will Lethal Weapon 5 be able to move forward after the passing of the franchise's director? Mel Gibson had a lot to say about his future plans.
This article is more than 2 years old
Ever since filmmaker Richard Donner passed away earlier this year, the future of Lethal Weapon 5 has been shrouded in doubts and mystery. A few have wondered if the long-awaited film will be shelved in the director’s absence. But many reports also emerged that Lethal Weapon star Mel Gibson, who has played LAPD detective Martin Riggs in the first four films, will be helming the final film in the franchise. And after letting the rumors and speculations stew for months, the Braveheart actor has finally confirmed that he is indeed directing as well as starring in Lethal Weapon 5.
Recently, Mel Gibson appeared at an event in London and fondly remembered Richard Donner with whom he worked on all the Lethal Weapon films. The actor also revealed that before his sudden demise, Donner was busy developing the screenplay for Lethal Weapon 5 and was done with most of it. But even then, the director was aware of his frail health and had asked Gibson to take over as the director if he passed away. While Mel Gibson didn’t agree to or deny the offer at the time, after Donner passed away he accepted that Donner did want him to helm the film and he should honor his wishes.
The man who directed all the Lethal films, Richard Donner, he was a big guy. He was developing the screenplay and he got pretty far along with it. And he said to me one day, ‘Listen kid, if I kick the bucket you will do it.’ And I said: ‘Shut up.’ But he did indeed pass away. But he did ask me to do it and at the time I didn’t say anything. He said it to his wife and to the studio and the producer. So I will be directing the fifth one.
Mel Gibson
The Sun has also reported that the production of Lethal Weapon 5 will most probably commence in 2022. While Mel Gibson hasn’t explicitly confirmed whether he will be reprising his iconic role as well, the outlet has reported that he will indeed play Riggs in the film, more than two decades after Lethal Weapon 4 was released in 1998. His Riggs will obviously be older now but “not necessarily wiser.” As for the involvement of Danny Glover, there is yet to be a rumored or official confirmation that he is also returning to reprise his role from the earlier films.
For years, the development of Lethal Weapon 5 has been delayed because of multiple hurdles. It started with Warner Bros. not wanting Donner to direct the film despite him and Lethal Weapon 4 writer Channing Gibson having a story ready. This led Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, who played Sergeant Roger Murtaugh in the films, to turn down the film as well. Donner was reinstated as the director in 2017 after the studio’s plans for the fifth film failed. This time, both Gibson and Glover were also ready to return to reprise their role and the film was announced to be in active development by 2020. But all plans once again came to a standstill after Donner passed away in July this year.
Recently, Corey Feldman, who has starred in Donner’s The Goonies, revealed in a chat with Movieweb that after the filmmaker passed away, many people recommended that Mel Gibson should direct Lethal Weapon 5. Feldman himself encouraged the actor-director to go ahead with it and looks like his words finally did the trick. With Gibson finally ready to direct the film, the development of Lethal Weapon 5 is now hopefully destined to progress smoothly.
