Is “Lethal Weapon 5” still coming?
Mel Gibson spreads optimism
The planned conclusion to the “Lethal Weapon” series has been simmering in Hollywood development hell for years.
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Mel Gibson raises hopes for “Lethal Weapon” fans. The shooting of “Lethal Weapon 5” could therefore begin soon.
The iconic action film and buddy cop series “Lethal Weapon” starring Mel Gibson (66) has four films to date that were released in cinemas between 1987 and 1998. A fifth part has been in planning since 2007 with changing personnel, but unfortunately the film has been simmering in the so-called development hell of Hollywood for years. A green light to start shooting has not yet been given by the producing film studio Warner Bros.
“Lethal Weapon 5” was particularly set back last year by a death. Legendary director Richard Donner (1930-2021) died of heart failure at the age of 91. He had directed all four parts of the series – and should also take a seat on the director’s chair again with “Lethal Weapon 5”.
Mel Gibson shares optimistic update on ‘Lethal Weapon 5’
Hollywood star Mel Gibson revealed in a new interview with “Screenrant”, that he thinks the planned conclusion of the action franchise is in good shape. According to Gibson, there is a script that the late Donner developed with Richard Wenk (66). Gibson then made further tweaks to the script with writer Wenk after Donner’s death to achieve the special “flavor” of the “Lethal Weapon” series. “[…] we were pretty happy with what we came up with,” Gibson said. It’s all “in the spirit” of the late filmmaker Donner.
Will “Lethal Weapon 5” start filming next year?
But now a new obstacle slows down the long-awaited sequel. Following a company merger, the Warner Bros. film studio now belongs to the Warner Bros. Discovery media group, and the new management is closely monitoring all ongoing projects. For example, the already completed “Batgirl” film was canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery in August and will probably never be released.
“It always takes a certain amount of time for these companies to reorganize, so that was a delay,” explains Mel Gibson in an interview. At the same time, however, the two-time Oscar winner is “quite confident” that “Lethal Weapon 5” will receive the green light from Warner Bros. and start filming at the end. Gibson even promises to start shooting in the first quarter of 2023, but nothing has been officially confirmed yet.