Mel Gibson to star in Lethal Weapon 5

29 January 2020

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are set to star in 'Lethal Weapon 5', producer Dan Lin has spilled.

Mel Gibson

Lin, who served as executive producer of the 'Lethal Weapon' television series, has revealed that he and Richard Donner - who directed and produced the previous four films - is working on bringing the action buddy cop franchise back to the big screen for another outing for Detective Martin Riggs (Gibson) and his partner Detective Roger Murtaugh (Glover), 22 years after the release of 'Lethal Weapon 4'.

In the latest episode of the Producers Roundtable from The Hollywood Reporter, Lin said: "We're trying to make the last 'Lethal Weapon' movie. And Dick Donner's coming back. The original cast is coming back. And it's just amazing. The story is very personal to him."

Lin, 46, says Gibson and Glover are "ready to go" but the script for the project still needs to be finished.

He added: "Mel and Danny are ready to go, so it's about the script."

The original 'Lethal Weapon' was released in 1987 and the popularity of the detective duo meant that it spawned three sequels.

The franchise was revived for a television series that lasted between 2016 and 2019, starring Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans as Riggs and Murtaugh respectively.

Lin's announcement comes despite Donner ruling out the prospect of 'Lethal Weapon 5' back in 2018 because of issues with Warner Bros.

The 89-year-old film legend said: "I'm ready to do 5. It's called 'Lethal Finale'. It's very dark. And we were all set to go, and now Warner Bros. is doing their old-fashioned tricks.

"Not Warner Bros., there's this guy who runs the studio who's great, but they have these people in the legal department who do the negotiating in the most counter-productive way that they should be sent to a studio and work with the producers and directors and actors, and learn what makes a film, and then negotiate.

"And it's too bad, because there's a wonderful writer named Channing Gibson, who wrote ['Lethal Weapon 4'] for me, and we have a really great story. It IS dark. But I wanted to end it on an emotional note, and I don't think it's gonna happen."