Mullets and moustaches at the ready: Lethal Weapon 5 could be on the horizon. According to Deadline, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, as well as director Richard Donner, are in talks with Warner Bros, who first brought the franchise to the masses, with all parties seemingly keen to revisit Riggs and Murtaugh’s fraught relationship. Lethal Weapon 4 scribe Channing Gibson is also in the frame to pen the new script, which will presumably take place in Los Angeles, 20 years after the previous instalment from 1998.
The original Lethal Weapon was released 1987, and saw a post-Mad Max Gibson play renegade cop Martin Riggs, partnered with Danny Glover’s veteran homicide investigator Roger Murtaugh. Part of the rich tapestry of ’80s buddy cop movies along with 48 Hours, Tango and Cash and Turner & Hooch, the Lethal Weapon franchise has pulled in an impressive $955.2 million worldwide and inspired countless parodies, including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s own versions of Lethal Weapon 5 and Lethal Weapon 6. The series also spawned a spin-off television show starring Damon Wayans, currently in its second season.
A fifth instalment has been rumoured ever since Shane Black wrote a script treatment back in 2007, but this is the first time Gibson and Glover have shown an interest. Given that both stars are actually beyond the recommend retirement age for LAPD officers, it’ll be interesting to see what Donner and Gibson have in mind for the future of the franchise – our guess is it’ll probably involve saxophone solos.
Published 30 Oct 2017
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