Mel Gibson Is Planning to Bring Back Lethal Weapon

He says late director Richard Donner wanted him to continue series
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 15, 2021 3:17 PM CST
Mel Gibson Plans to Direct Lethal Weapon 5
In this Nov. 16, 2017 photo, Mel Gibson arrives at the premiere of "Daddys Home 2," in London.   (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)

Mel Gibson says he's working on bringing back Lethal Weapon—34 years after the first movie and 23 years after the most recent film in the franchise. The Sun reports that Gibson, 65, said at an event in London over the weekend that Richard Donner, who directed all four Lethal Weapon films, wanted him to helm Lethal Weapon 5. "He was developing the screenplay and he got pretty far along with it," Gibson said. "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."

Donner, 91, died in July this year. Gibson said the director told his wife, the studio, and the producer about his wishes, so "I will be directing the fifth one." Gibson starred as LAPD officer Martin Riggs in the series alongside Danny Glover, CNN reports. Sources tell Deadline that Gibson is in talks to star as well as direct, though no deal has been signed yet. It's not clear whether Glover, 75, will reprise his role as Roger Murtaugh, who declared in the 1987 movie that he was "too old for this s---." (More Mel Gibson stories.)

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