Maybe They're Not Too Old For This S**t! Lethal Weapon 5 In Development.

Could the long-gestating Lethal Weapon 5 ACTUALLY happen?

Mark this into the ‘We’ll believe it when we see it’ pile but word is leaking out that Warner Bros. has greenlit a fifth film in the ‘Lethal Weapon‘ series. Producer Dan Lin dropped the story when he was speaking about ‘The Two Popes‘ when he delivered this nugget about the classic buddy cop franchise:

“We’re trying to make the last Lethal Weapon movie. And Dick Donner’s coming back. 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”

Lethal Weapon 2

Now, don’t get me wrong. A fifth ‘Lethal Weapon‘ film sounds, on paper to be an exciting idea. Finally getting Mel Gibson back in his role of Martin Riggs and managing to convince Danny Glover to return as his long-suffering partner, Roger Murtaugh would be a masterstroke, after all, that’s has gone on over the years including Gibson refusing to even consider the idea and that was before his documented personal problems and his almost exertion from Hollywood after anti-Semitic comments he made years ago.

Danny Glover has kept his head in TV movies and was recently seen in ‘Jumanji: The Next Level‘ And rumours of one final movie have been doing the rounds for many years. However, director Richard Donner turns 90 this year, Gibson hasn’t really toplined a major Hollywood production for almost a decade and the formula has been taken, twisted and done to death with varying quality ever since the original came out of the traps back in 1987. Add to that the last film, ‘Lethal Weapon 4‘ saw the franchise hit a new low. It wasn’t that the film was bad as it wasn’t. It just felt like a wind-down of the franchise, an ending that felt natural and felt rushed and living on past glories. It felt like a goodbye to something that was once essential viewing but outstayed it’s welcome just once too often.

Lethal Weapon 5?

That being said though, you can argue that if they can revive ‘The Matrix‘ franchise and bring back several members of the original cast who *SPOILER ALERT* died at the end of the last film, then ‘Lethal Weapon 5‘ could quite easily fly. What’s interesting is Lin’s comment about it being a ‘Final film’. Could he be hinting at an ending in which both our heroes die in a blaze of glory, fighting one last battle? Or could he be speaking of a torch-passing film? Neither fills me with enthusiasm, to be honest. ‘Lethal Weapon 4‘ gave the series a perfect ending, with Riggs becoming a father and ‘marrying’ Lorna on her hospital bed as she prepared to give birth and Murtaugh becoming a Grandfather and gaining a son-in-law. But, as ‘Rambo: Last Blood‘ has shown, there’s always one more movie that can be squeezed from the formula before it’s completely gone.

Lethal Weapon 3

We will keep our eyes on the wires regarding this story and await any more whispers from Hollywood. But as I quoted before in this piece, I’ll believe it when I’m sitting in a movie theatre and watching the movie play before my eyes.

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Carl Roberts is a Senior Staff Writer and Books and Literature Correspondent for Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter @CarlRoberts2 where he uses the force frequently!

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter