LETHAL WEAPON 5 is in Development with the Original Cast and Director Richard Donner
It looks like we’re actually going to get a fifth Lethal Weapon film! There’s been talk about this in the past, but things are moving forward with the development and during a recent roundtable discussion with THR, producer Dan Lin revealed that Warner Bros. is looking to create at least one more movie which will bring back the original cast including Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, as well as director Richard Donner. Lin said:
"We're trying to make the last Lethal Weapon move. And Dick Donner's coming back. The original cast is coming back. And it's just amazing. The story itself is very personal to him. Mel and Danny are ready to go, so it's about the script."
Well, shit! Let’s get that script in order and make the movie happen! I love the Lethal Weapon franchise and to see these guys get together one more time to tell one final story with Detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh would be so cool!
It’s been over 20 years since the last Lethal Weapon movie was released. That was back in 1998! I can’t believe it’s been that long. Donner directed all four installments so it makes sense for him to come back for one more wild ride. The filmmaker turns 90 this year, and it’s pretty awesome that he is still fired up about making movies.
Writer and director Shane Black created the Lethal Weapon franchise and he had previously pitched an idea for the fifth film, which would be set in during the worst blizzard New York City has ever seen. He explained:
"I wrote a 62-page treatment with my friend Chuck for Lethal Weapon 5 that would’ve been, I think, a very good movie. It was interesting. It was essentially an older Riggs and Murtagh in New York City during the worst blizzard in east coast history, fighting a team of expert Blackwater guys from Afghanistan that’s smuggling antiquities. And we had a young character that actually counter-pointed them.
"But I didn’t wanna do what people do when they’re trying to transition which is, they sorta put the two older guys in the movie, but really it’s about their son! And he’s gonna take over and we’re gonna do a spinoff. Fuck that: If they’re gonna be in the movie, they’re gonna be in the movie — I don’t care how old they are."
I actually really like that idea. I have no idea if that concept is still on the table. Also, I don’t want to see a younger character brought in for a spinoff either. Just keep the main focus on the original characters! But, regardless, I’m totally up for Lethal Weapon 5!
What would you like to see in a new Lethal Weapon movie?