Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and others are returning for Lethal Weapon 5, according to producer Dan Lin. The filmmaker mentioned the long-awaited sequel in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which was published on Monday. Lin said that “the original cast is coming back” for Lethal Weapon 5.
Lin sat down for a THR roundtable to discuss The Two Popes, the Netflix original film he produced last year. The movie is nominated for three Oscars, but Lin has plenty of other projects coming up, including Lethal Weapon 5.
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“We’re trying to make the last Lethal Weapon movie. And Dick Donner’s coming back,” Lin said. “The original cast is coming back. And it’s just amazing. The story itself is very personal to him. Mel and Danny are ready to go, so it’s about the script.”
This was a big reveal, as precious few details have come out about Lethal Weapon 5 so far. Many fans were starting to doubt whether the project even exists. The idea has been talked about in interviews like this one for years, with no real evidence it is coming to theaters.
Still, Lin is a reliable source on the matter, having worked on the recent Lethal Weapon TV series from start to finish. Back in 2017, Deadline reported that Lethal Weapon 5 was in the earliest stages of development. Even then, Richard Donner was attached.
Donner directed all four of the original Lethal Weapon movies, as well as many other treasured franchises over the years. However, his last feature film, 16 Blocks, was released in 2006. He took a few more producing credits after that, but even that ended in 2012. Donner turns 90 years old in April.
The stars of Lethal Weapon have been on camera a little more recently, though not by much. Mel Gibson‘s work thinned out considerably in the early 2000s when he made a number of homophobic, antisemitic and racist comments. He slowly eased his way back into the industry in recent years, but many viewers still find it uncomfortable to see Gibson back on the big screen.
Glover, at least, is a proven box office commodity even in 2020. He appeared in Jumanji: The Next Level last month, and he has nine more movies in the works on his IMDb, not including Lethal Weapon 5.
All in all, Lethal Weapon 5 is still not a sure thing, but Lin’s words are extremely encouraging for many fans. Now they will just have to keep their fingers crossed for Riggs and Murtaugh to ride again.
