It's been long rumored that Mel Gibson would be taking over directorial duties on Lethal Weapon 5 since Richard Donner passed away. Well, the actor and director has officially confirmed he's on board the project and will take up those duties. The star of the long running series will return along with Danny Glover to reprise their roles in what is expected to be the fifth and final entry. The last movie was in theaters back in 1998 so it seems high time to put this thing to bed. The fifth film has been talked about for years now but finally started gaining traction when Donner announced plans roughly two years ago to finally get it made.
When speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Gibson officially confirmed that he will be on board as director with Glover also returning to the franchise as his partner, Roger Murtaugh.
Along with this news, it's been discussed that LW5 may end up heading to HBO MAX instead of being a theatrical release. This has not been officially confirmed as of this report, but we look forward to seeing what happens with the movie. Gibson and Glover have amazing chemistry together on screen. As Gibson continues his attempt to put the past behind him, we'll wait to see how the general public reacts to him taking up another mainstream Lethal Weapon movie. For the last few years, Gibson has stuck to more independent fare like Fatman, The Beaver and other offbeat films. However, his Hacksaw Ridge was an extremely successful box office release.
Here's what he had to say when speaking with ET:
“Yeah, I am directing that. I’m really looking forward to it. I wish I wasn’t directing it. I wish Richard Donner was still here to do it but left us untimely, and he actually asked me, he said ‘Hey kid, if I don’t make it, you’ll take the reins, huh?’ I told him to shut up. I think it’s an honor for me to be able to carry the flag for him. I called Danny [Glover] up, of course, and said ‘Hey, dude, is it okay with you if I direct this?’ He said yeah, let’s go.”
-CG