Lethal Weapon 5… The Magic is Back Again, Again!

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 7, 2008

Danny Glover and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon

Go ahead and get all of your “too old for this shit” comments in now, I’ll wait.

Done? Good, because it looks like Detectives Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) may be wheezing back into action sometime soon. Member-only site TrackingB is reporting that Predator star Shane Black has written a spec script for a fifth film in the Lethal Weapon franchise. A franchise that many had thought ran its course with the superior second installment. And by “many,” I mean me.

Plot information is light with the exception of the following synopsis tease. “This time, homicidal Riggs is about to retire, but pulls Murtaugh out of retirement to solve one final case, before they both officially head off into the sunset.” Generic, yes. Expected, yes. Will I still see it? Yes, goddamnit, because after the fluff that was Lethal Weapon 3 and 4, Black won me back with the pitch perfect Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Black also directed that Robert Downey Jr./Val Kilmer masterpiece — yes I said masterpiece — which makes makes me want to suggest that series-helmer Richard Donner sit this fifth film out all together… let Black take the directing reins! At the very least we may get to see Gibson peeing on a corpse.

This report is obviously speculative and extremely premature, as the script has reportedly only recently been handed to uber-producer Joel Silver. Gibson and Glover are supposedly on board sight unseen, which is to be expected. But this news begs the question posed recently by resident angry bastard Robert Fure… is it really a good idea to return to a franchise so many years after the last film? I say you have to take each film on a case by case basis, but with Shane Black proving he’s back and writing better than ever, I’m willing to believe the magic may actually be back as well. Hell, after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Black could write a sequel to The Monster Squad and I’d be first in line at the theater.


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  • Nish
    As cop buddy movies go, Lethal Weapon is hard to beat. Rush Hour came close and Bad Boys wasn't great. I think this could be a lot of fun, especially with Black in charge.
  • I'll pretty much watch anything Shane Black writes.
  • I would love to see it but only if Richard Donner directed once again. Sadly this genre has been fazed out as Hollywood knows nothing but comic book movies!
  • lethal grandpa
    they're too old for this shit
  • Nevernude
    As long as the movie does not have;
    a young Riggs
    said young Riggs turns out to be the son of Riggs senior
    said young Riggs swinging through a jungle with CGI monkeys
    said young Riggs perhaps become the new Riggs in a another Lethal Weapon movie...

    Count me in
  • Nevernude: i think we can all agree that indiana jones is horrible
  • Chris
    ALBA VARDEN IS A SHIP!!!!
  • I like Shane Black. Lethal Weapon 4 was terrible. So if it looks like its done well, I'm down. But will it be? Tough.

    And I would be down for a Monster Squad sequel no matter who wrote it! Though Shane Black on Monster Squad would be awesome. I love Monster Squad.

    I'm biased though, because its actually an unofficial biography of my childhood.
  • Nevernude
    @ white slave jew: no no indiana jones is not bad at all..indiana jones 1,2,3 are classics that i shall keep next to my special order Busty Babes do Hawaii collection forever and show my kids. I mean show my kids Indy...not busty babes...

    INDY 4 was bad!
    I went into a coma after seeing that movie. Woke up a couple of days to hear George Lucas talking about another one...im due another coma any day now i think
  • Aleric
    Leathel Weapon 1 (Great)

    Leather Weapon 2 (Good but too much political BS)

    Leather Weapon 3 (Not too bad but could have been better)

    Leather Weapon 4 (Pushing it, even Jet Lee couldn't help)

    I think the time has come for this series, after all Danny Glover is too busy meeting with Dictators like Hugo Chavez to take time off to make a film.
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