Earlier this year, word got out that a new installment of Lethal Weapon was in the works. Now, the franchise’s longtime director Richard Donner has confirmed that he’s both directing and producing the film at the young age of 91 years old.
Donner sat down with The Telegraph for a story about his 1978 Superman film, and at one point the news of his upcoming project surfaced. That’s when Donner couldn’t help but confirm some key details about his involvement in it. “This is the final one,” he said. “It’s both my privilege and duty to put it to bed. It’s exciting, actually! [But] it’s the last one, I’ll promise you that.”
As previously reported, Lethal Weapon 5 will see original stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover reuniting to shoot a new adventure. There’s no word on what to expect from the plot, but Donner did say that he wants to end the iconic movie series on “an emotional note,” so expect the script to throw a few punches at the heart.
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Plenty has happened since the first Lethal Weapon hit theaters in 1987. The second and third sequels came relatively quickly, in 1989 and 1992 respectively, and were followed by Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998. Since then, it took years for Warner Bros. to finally greenlight another sequel — a 2007 attempt was made by producer Joel Silver and screenwriter Shane Blake, but Gibson refused to hop onboard without Donner’s involvement — that never saw the light of day.
Of course, Gibson’s own involvement seems in constant peril given the actor’s tendency to be an anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic asshole. Earlier this year, he was dropped from the upcoming Chicken Run sequel in light of claims by Wiona Ryder that Gibson made derogatory comments to her and a friend during a party they all attended.
