lethal weapon 5 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

While in London last week visiting the set of Sherlock Holmes, Cinematical had a chance to sit down with producers Joel Silver and Susan Downey and chat up a bunch of projects that may or may not still be in the works. There's been a whole bunch of chatter recently surrounding Lethal Weapon 5, and how Mel Gibson didn't want to do it, but Shane Black did ... blah blah blah. Well Cinematical asked Silver flat out whether a Lethal sequel was in the cards, and here's what he had to say: "No, I tried and we talked about it, but it was something that Mel didn't want to do now. It doesn't mean that he wants to do it ever, but as of right now, he didn't, and if we can do it, it would be fun to do. Shane (Black) had a great take on it, a great idea, great feeling about it. He did a really complex kind of treatment/outline, very complicated and very good, but we can do it one day. The idea that they wanted to get it up right away, we couldn't do that, but we'll see what happens."

Both Sgt. Rock (based on the popular comic) and a remake of The Dirty Dozen are in similar situations. Both projects had been circling Guy Ritchie, but following RockNRolla, the writer-director wanted to go back to work right away and not only was Sherlock Holmes "different and unique," but it was also the farthest along in development.

But was he ever considering it in the first place? Not long ago it seemed a Lethal Weapon 5 was all but a lock, what with Shane Black writing the script and Columbus Short supposedly in talks to play Danny Glover's son -- but now, according to a recent interview with Richard Donner in the LA Times, it looks like the whole thing might just go away. Thank God. That's because, in Donner's world, Mel Gibson has already passed on the project. (And here we thought Glover passed over a year ago.) The director notes, "Mel turned it down. 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."

Though "Gibson's people" refused to comment, the LA Times is pretty confident in their findings. Donner, who directed all four previous Lethal Weapon films, seems a bit "I toldja so" in the interview, regarding Warners decision to follow Joel Silver's lead: "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." He later adds, "Yes, the project is pretty much dead in the water unless someone had the sense to come to me."

Of course, Donner could be talking out his rear end ... though, on the surface, it seems like a reach for both Gibson and Glover to agree to a fifth film, especially one without Donner behind the camera. But what do you think? Would you actually be down for a Lethal Weapin 5? Or are these guys just too old for this sh*t?

The franchise reboots may never end. According to ComingSoon.net (who spotted it on TrackingB.com), Shane Black has written a spec script for Lethal Weapon 5 without really telling anyone but Joel Silver.

The story would center around Riggs' impending retirement (and his, undoubtedly, being too old for ... well, you know). But before he leaves the force, he has to tackle one last case, and as there are no other police officers in Los Angeles, he hauls Murtaugh out of retirement to help him. Allegedly, both Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are interested, though no deals have been signed.

Now, I name drop Lethal Weapon enough that you undoubtedly know that the series ranks much higher in my life than it probably should. Watching it in my pre-teens not only taught me a choice vocabulary, it rocked my world with glimpses at a naked Mel Gibson. My problems with men probably stem from the pedestal I have placed Martin Riggs upon.

But, that doesn't mean I want a fifth movie -- I already sat through the fourth installment, and it wasn't that good. Black has penned some fantastic scripts in his time -- and I firmly believe A Long Kiss Goodnight is insanely underrated -- and I'd love to see him churning out action-comedies again. But not ones with Riggs and Murtaugh. Let Lethal Weapon lie, and write a franchise that can give us a new badass or two. Check out the video below of Seth Rogen and James Franco discussing Shane Black's movies from Moviefone's latest Unscripted chat...

Odds and ends from Thursday:

• According to a story in Star magazine, Jennifer Lopez has abruptly dropped out of the big-screen remake of Dallas, based off the classic TV show. In the film, Lopez was set to star as J.R. Ewing's alcoholic wife Sue Ellen, opposite John Travolta. No word yet on why she bailed, but it's certainly not the first time someone has left the production. Earlier this year, director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) quit after he was upset over casting choices. Hmm, I wonder if Lopez was one of the choices he was upset about. Shirley MacLaine and Luke Wilson are currently in negotiations to round out the cast. Personally, why not throw Sharon Stone in the Sue Ellen role -- she'd make a great alcoholic. Casino, anyone?
• Universal has snatched up rights to the comic book, The Leading Man, with Marc Platt Prods. and Closed on Mondays Entertainment set to produce. Comic, which is written by B. Clay Moore and illustrated by Jeremy Haun, revolves around the adventures of the world's biggest movie star, Nick Walter. Story follows Walter as he "uses his celebrity, access, lifestyle and his films' international location shoots as a cover for his real job, that of an international spy." Pic sounds fun, but I would imagine they would need a huge A-list celebrity to make this believable. Brad Pitt, maybe? George Clooney would also be fun to watch in a role like this. Thoughts? Opinions?
• The last thing I expected to come out of this whole Mel Gibson debacle was a movie rumor, but that's exactly what Moviehole reported on Thursday. Word around Warner Bros. is they've been down with shelling out another Lethal Weapon sequel for a couple years now, except Mel Gibson refused to be involved. Seeing as the franchise depended on Gibson reprising his role as Sergeant Martin Riggs, the sequel lost steam. However, with projects disappearing faster than Gibson's career, some folks are saying the actor may now jump onboard a Lethal Weapon 5, if only because it would be a good film to help win back some of his fanbase. Makes sense, no?