MOVIE NEWS – Mel Gibson has confirmed that he will direct Lethal Weapon 5 after Richard Donner’s death in 2021.

It’s been a long time coming, but Lethal Weapon 5 is still in the works, according to star Mel Gibson, who will also take over directing duties after the late Richard Donner died in 2021. Released in 1987, Lethal Weapon is a cop “buddy movie” with Gibson and Danny Glover, in which they played a pair of mismatched Los Angeles police detectives. The film grossed $120 million at the box office and spawned an entire franchise that saw three sequels and, in 2016, a TV series.

Regarding another sequel, Gibson first mentioned in 2021 that it was under development, but since then, there has been little news about the project.

On the Inspire Me Podcast, Mel Gibson talked about Lethal Weapon 5, which he says he will continue to direct. He mentioned his relationship with Richard Donner and the fact that the late director hired Gibson to continue the franchise, which he said was an “honor”.

“I’m going to direct the fifth film in the Lethal Weapon series. Richard Donner, who did the other four, sadly passed away. He was a good friend, and he kind of tasked me with carrying the flag home on that one. It’ll be an honor for me to do that.”

Gibson, now 68, also mentioned that before Richard Donner’s death in 2021, he and co-writer Richard Wenk had already worked quite a bit on the Lethal Weapon 5 script. Since then, Gibson and his colleagues have continued to “poke at it”. In 2023, it was reported that Jez Butterworth had been brought on board for the remake.

“He [Richard Donner] had gotten a fair way into the screenplay, so we’ve used what was there, and we kept poking at it, working at it a little. I’m pretty happy with it, it’s good, I had a lot of fun doing it.”

Gibson would conclude the update by saying that audiences can expect the same humor that has always been included throughout the long history of the Lethal Weapon franchise, but that the new film will also have some “hard issues.”

“It’s funny! But it’s also pretty serious too. It tackles a couple of hard issues. So I’m looking forward to it.”

When will Lethal Weapon 5, directed by Mel Gibson, hit cinemas?

Based on Mel Gibson’s latest update, it doesn’t look like Lethal Weapon 5 will begin production anytime soon. So the release date seems still far away at the moment. Although he previously hoped that the project could start in 2023, this apparently did not happen due to several factors.

Among other things, due to the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, which seems to have crossed Gibson’s original plans.

As for whether Lethal Weapon 5 will be in theatres at all? This is also up in the air. The film was initially thought to be developed for HBO Max as a way to continue building feature film content for the streaming platform. Since then, HBO Max has morphed into simply Max. It is not out of the question that the films that were once thought of as theatrical films will be released for streaming, like Salem’s Lot. However, there is no confirmation yet on whether this will happen for Lethal Weapon 5.

Mel Gibson will next star in the crime thriller Boneyard, which hits theatres on July 5, 2024. His next directorial work can be seen in the thriller Flight Risk, starring Mark Wahlberg, which will be released in theatres on October 18, 2024.

Source: YouTube