Mel Gibson Says 'Lethal Weapon 5' Script is Better Than Previous Movies

Lethal Weapon, one of the most famous action franchises of the 1980s and 1990s, is back with plans for a fifth film. After a long stretch without any news about the production, Mel Gibson updated the status of Lethal Weapon 5 in an interview with Collider and revealed where the characters stand today.

“The characters are quite different. They’re older. One is retired. The other works in an office”, Gibson explained. The actor also said the sequel will take a simpler approach, without huge explosions, while still keeping the energy of the previous films. According to him, both his character and Danny Glover’s will be older, with one of them even dealing with weight issues.

The new film will make only minimal references to the previous movies and will work as “a completely standalone story”. As for the action scenes, Gibson revealed that a foot chase will be filmed with the language of a car chase, keeping familiar elements of the franchise but in a less complex way and with greater focus on the characters.

Gibson also confirmed that he intends to direct the film, following a wish from Richard Donner, director of the first four movies, who died in 2021. According to the actor, Donner was working on the script for the fifth film before his death and even asked Gibson to take over directing if he could not continue.

The script was later completed by Gibson and Richard Wenk, with Donner serving as the main reference throughout the process. “What would Donner do?” was the question guiding the team, according to the actor. Gibson even said he considers the Lethal Weapon 5 script “better than the previous ones”.

Even so, the film still has not gotten off the ground. Gibson explained that production was stalled by internal issues at Warner Bros., and that the project ended up stuck in a kind of “development hell”.

Now, the actor believes the changes involving the studio could help get the movie moving. “Maybe, who knows, they’ll be able to sort out the acquisition, and you might get to see the film in a year or so”, Gibson said, without confirming an official timeline for the start of filming.