Lethal Weapon 5 Suddenly Looks Real Good for Mel Gibson!
Sun, August 1, 2010 
What is the road of salvation for Mel Gibson and his crumbling career? Staying off the radar for awhile? Make another public apology – possibly donate to some special-needs group? Gluing his mouth shut? Directing another great epic showcasing his story-telling abilities?
Or better yet, how about finally starring in Lethal Weapon 5!? Hey, that'll make everyone forget the bullshit you've pulled, Mel.
As per What's Playing, word is talks have sprung forth once again between Gibson and producer Joel Silver - even after he killed the project five years ago.
If memory serves me correct, Gibson balked at how series-director Richard Donner was not asked to participate and he basically said, "Donner directs or I don't it!" This was despite a script having been penned by Shane Black and Danny Glover seemingly back on board too. Of course, that was back when he could afford to be that picky. Nowadays, you'd be hard-pressed to hear someone say Gibson couldn't benefit from doing Lethal Weapon 5.
We're still in the midst of the 80s nostalgia fest and what better way to bring it back than seeing an AARP card-carrying Riggs and Murtaugh fighting South African terrorists. Boy, does that movie play different these days, huh? But does anyone think Warner Brothers would want to make it now or any of Gibson's co-stars (like Glover) want to be anywhere near him?
Reader Comments (5)
I would love to see Lethal Weapon 5 happen! I think Glover could use another movie just as much as Mel needs a comeback, so I don't see why they wouldn't be on board. As for Warner Bros, they just released cats and dogs 2, I don't think LW5 is that far off from being green-lit
I think they should make a Rush Hour / Lethal Weapon team up movie. Hey you know you'd watch it!
This project sounds all kinds of wrong! I still love the first two Lethal Weapons (infact, I watched the second one again the other night and its still awesome!). The third one was okay, but as you mentioned on Movie Moan this week ; the fourth one was rushed into production... AND BOY DID IT SHOW ON SCREEN! Maybe they could take more time developing the fifth one, but it would seem a bit perverse at this point. I'm not saying Glover and Gibson should never work together again, but I think it's time to put that franchise to bed. After all, in Lethal Weapon IV even Riggs became too old for that shit!
The beauty of the first Lethal Weapon movie was how raw and on the edge Riggs was, by the 4th he was domesticated and the air of danger was gone, so despite the fact I can't see any studio touching Mel with a barge pole right now, even if they did I am not convinced there is anywhere left to go with this franchise.
People still watch Tom Cruise movies because he's crazy but harmless. You make this, and no one will be able to seperate the Mel on screen from the horrible things he's said. The last thing Mel needs is people connecting him to violence of any kind.