(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
The long-gestating fifth installment of the "Lethal Weapon" franchise has been kept on life support for years, with its creative team occasionally dropping updates to let fans know the project is still alive. The last major announcement came after the passing of director Richard Donner five years ago, when star Mel Gibson revealed he would honor Donner's final wish by stepping into the director's chair himself. Since then, however, the sequel has seen little tangible progress.
(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
That changed recently when Gibson shared some key updates on the script's development in an interview with Collider at Boston Comic Con. "You know, Donner, at 90 years old, was cranking on a fifth one, and he got pretty far with it when he passed away," Gibson said. "So I got together with the writer and we finished the script, and our whole touchstone was, 'What would Donner do?' That's what we were thinking about. I think we have a script that's better than all of them... but it's stuck in some kind of film industry limbo. You can't get it out of the ground to get it made."
(Image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
Gibson also offered a glimpse into the story's direction: "It's not very connected to the previous ones, but it's a very complete story in itself. The characters are in a different state. They're older, one's retired, and the other is a desk jockey who's put on a lot of weight. And it's not a high-tech movie. It doesn't have the big explosions and all that stuff, but it has the vibe of a big action movie." He compared the approach to his film "Apocalypto," noting, "The chase is on foot, but it's shot like a car chase. So it still has all the elements of the previous films, but the plot is less complex. It's more focused on the characters."
(Image: Pinterest)
Gibson also explained why the film has yet to be made. "Richard Wenk (writer of 'The Equalizer' series, pictured above) and I finished the script, and we were ready to go, but it never materialized," he said. "I think Warner Bros. was in a quagmire... so the project was just put on hold." Gibson expressed hope that the recent leadership changes at the studio could finally move things forward. "With Skydance's David Ellison now set to take over Warner Bros., or at least it looks that way, maybe, just maybe, they'll unleash the chains and let it get made. Maybe in a year or so, you'll see the fifth one."
via： Collider