In the 1980s, there were a lot of action movies that became big hits and even turned into long-running series. One of these movies was “Lethal Weapon” in 1987.
It was a thrilling action-packed film starring Mel Gibson as a cop named Martin Riggs, who is a bit crazy, and Danny Glover as a by-the-book detective named Roger Murtaugh. The story followed the typical formula of buddy cop movies, where the two cops start off hating each other but eventually become friends and form a strong bond.
Because the first film was so successful, three more movies were made as sequels. The second movie, “Lethal Weapon 2,” came out and even had Joe Pesci join the cast to add some comedy. The third movie did well at the box office, but the fourth one didn’t do so great. Despite having a great cast that included Jet Li and Chris Rock, “Lethal Weapon 4” didn’t make much money and the critics didn’t like it either.
Both Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have said they would be interested in making one more movie to redeem the series after the disappointment of the fourth one. They wanted to make “Lethal Weapon 5” as a way to make up for it, but there have been some ups and downs in the process of getting the movie made.
Why It’s Taken So Long For Lethal Weapon 5 To Move Forward
Mel Gibson, despite facing some personal troubles that caused problems in his career, made a comeback in Hollywood with the success of his war drama movie, “Hacksaw Ridge,” which even got an Oscar nomination. He then got leading roles in movies like “Blood Father” and “Dragged Across Concrete.” It seemed like the film industry was ready to see Gibson play the character of Martin Riggs again.
The director of the previous “Lethal Weapon” movies, Richard Donner, also wanted to bring the team back together for a new movie called “Lethal Finale.” He had been working on a darker idea for the film along with writer Richard Wenk, known for his work on “The Equalizer.” However, when Donner passed away in 2021, Gibson announced that he would step in as the director while still playing the role of Riggs.
But in September 2022, Gibson revealed that the merger between Warner Bros and Discovery caused some major delays. He explained that the changes in leadership at Warner Bros affected the progress of the movie, with new people coming in and causing disruptions. Despite this setback, Gibson expressed confidence that the movie would still move forward. In more recent news, Shane Black, the original screenwriter of the first “Lethal Weapon” movie, has joined the project alongside Wenk.
Shane Black Wrote The Perfect Lethal Weapon 5 Script That Never Happened
Black cemented himself as the go-to action writer in 1987 when he sold his first ever script. That project would go on to be the smash hit, Lethal Weapon. Black stuck around for Lethal Weapon 2, but sat out the other two entries out as he pursued other projects. However, he had an idea for how he wanted Lethal Weapon 5 to play out long before he boarded the project. When sitting down with the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Black outlined an exciting concept he had for Lethal Weapon 5:
“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.”
While no plot details have been announced, it will be interesting to see if any of Black’s original ideas make it into the movie. With Donner calling the story “dark”, and Wenk being fully equipped to write a violent revenge movie, it’s likely Black has been hired to add his unique dark comedy to the script. But despite everyone’s hard work and efforts, and with Gibson and Glover getting “too old for this s***”, Lethal Weapon 5 could just wind up becoming a project that came close but not close enough.
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FAQs
Will there ever be a Lethal Weapon 5?
It’s not clear if “Lethal Weapon 5” will happen because there have been delays and changes caused by the director Richard Donner passing away and a merger at Warner Bros. But there is still a chance for the movie to happen because Mel Gibson wants to direct and play his role again, and the original screenwriter Shane Black is also involved.
Why did they stop making Lethal Weapon movie?
The “Lethal Weapon” movies were stopped for a few reasons. The fourth movie didn’t do well at the box office and received mixed reviews. The passing of director Richard Donner and changes within Warner Bros also affected the plans for future films.
