Mel Gibson is set to direct Lethal Weapon 5, picking up the torch from former director Richard Donner, who died last July.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Donner, who directed the original Lethal Weapon and all its sequels, was preparing for a fifth Lethal Weapon for some years, with scriptwriters coming and going from the project. Donner died at the age of 91. THR notes that the idea of handing off directorial duties to Gibson had been in the works for months and likely originated from Lauren Shuler Donner, a film industry producer and Richard Donner's longtime wife.
Citing UK tabloid The Sun, THR reported that Gibson confirmed during an event on Sunday he would direct Lethal Weapon 5 and received blessing from the late Donner.
“[Donner] 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.’ 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.”
The first Lethal Weapon, released in 1987, helped launch Gibson and co-star Danny Glover to broader film success, building up on Gibson's his success in the Mad Max franchise and Glover's success in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple. The franchise similarly launched the career of Shane Black, who would go on to write Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and direct/write Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys, and The Predator. The films follow Gibson as LAPD Sergeant Martin Riggs and Glover as veteran homicide sergeant Roger Murtaugh. Its blend of action film stylings and buddy cop drama were parodied throughout cinema in the years since in films like Hot Fuzz.
Gibson is no stranger behind the camera either, winning an Oscar for best director for Braveheart. He also directed The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and WWII film Hacksaw Ridge.
Last we heard in 2020, Danny Glover said that Lethal Weapon 5 would have a "very strong relevance" to current events, but that remains to be seen if script changes have been made since.
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Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/lethal weapon for IGN.