The LA Times has the latest on the recently rumored fifth installment of the Lethal Weapon franchise. Richard Donner, who directed and produced all four "Lethal Weapon" films but found himself excluded from the recent plans to make a fifth, now says that his old friend Mel Gibson has walked away from the franchise revival.
"Mel turned it down," Donner said. "I would like to think that Mel turned it down because I wasn't involved. Knowing Mel, I would like to think that. Would that be the kind of thing he does? It sure would be."
The 78-year-old filmmaker should have pretty good insight into Gibson; in addition to the four "Lethal" films, Donner directed Gibson in "Conspiracy Theory" and "Maverick" and until recently, the two were pursuing another collaboration, "Sam and George."
In recent months there was a ramping of expectations that, like Indiana Jones, Rambo and John McClane, Gibson's volatile cop-hero Martin Riggs would be back on the screen to remind moviegoers of 1980s cinema glory. Those expectations began when word got out that Shane Black, who famously wrote the screenplay for the first "Lethal Weapon" and co-wrote the first sequel, had a script that would reunite Gibson's Riggs with his old partner, Danny Glover's Roger Murtaugh. He brought it to producer Joel Silver, another veteran of the "Lethal" franchise, who wanted Black to also direct it. (Black made his directorial debut with "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" in 2005.)
For Gibson, the first "Lethal Weapon" in 1987 propelled him to whole new Hollywood heights while for Donner it added luster and longevity to a resume that already included "Superman," "The Omen," "Ladyhawke" and "The Goonies." The "Lethal" franchise eventually grossed $488 million at the U.S. box office and the last installment, released in the summer of 1998, topped $130 million domestically.
The news of the Silver and Black project stirred press coverage and considerable blogosphere interest this summer, especially after actor Columbus Short said he was up for a supporting role and that the project was being fast-tracked. It was all frustrating for odd-man-out Donner, who with a separate team had come up with a sequel concept of their own. Donner, who had a falling out with Silver a few years ago, didn't enjoy being excluded from a franchise that he considers his signature work.
"Joel Silver tried to ace me out of it. He tried to put it together but made sure he didn't do it until my contract was up. You know, it's typical of the man. A guy who wasn't even around at the beginning when we started on the first one. He came in late."
Donner went on: "It's too bad, actually, because Channing Gibson, who wrote the fourth one, and Mike Riva, a designer on three of them, and myself and Derek [Hoffman, an associate at The Donner Company] had an incredibly strong story for the fifth movie. But we weren't given the opportunity and I think maybe I could have convinced Mel to do it. But Warners chose to go with Joel Silver."
Bad news for those of us who were intrigued by what the original creatives would do with these characters after so many years. Is there any hope it will ever get off the ground?
"Yes," says Donner. The project is pretty much dead in the water unless someone had the sense to come to me."
For more, including the Superman director's thoughts on the state of the character today, be sure to read the entire article over at the LA Times Hero Complex blog.
