Mel Gibson Says Lethal Weapon 5 Script Is ‘Better Than All the Others’ So Why Is the Film Still Stuck?

Nearly three decades after Lethal Weapon 4, Mel Gibson has offered fans a tantalising update on the long-awaited fifth chapter of the iconic action franchise and his confidence in the script could raise expectations considerably.

Gibson says the screenplay for Lethal Weapon 5 has been completed and is unlike the previous films in several important ways. Most notably, the story will acknowledge the age of its central characters and put greater emphasis on them rather than relying on the explosive set pieces that defined much of the earlier franchise.

And Gibson has gone even further, declaring that he believes the new screenplay is “better than all of the others.”

Riggs and Murtaugh Are Older and Very Different

The new film is expected to revisit Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh at a very different stage of their lives.

Gibson explained that the characters have aged considerably. One is retired, while the other has moved into a desk job and is struggling with weight gain.

That change appears to be central to the film’s approach.

Rather than attempting to recreate the high-octane formula of the earlier movies, Gibson says the fifth instalment will keep the action relatively grounded while still maintaining the energy audiences expect from a Lethal Weapon movie.

“There are no big explosions and all this sort of stuff,” Gibson said, while adding that the film would still have the drive of a major action movie.

‘It’s a Story All on Its Own’

Another interesting aspect of the project is its approach to the franchise’s history.

Gibson indicated that Lethal Weapon 5 will not spend much time revisiting the previous films. Instead, the screenplay is designed to work largely as its own story.

That could allow the film to appeal not only to longtime fans but also to audiences who may not remember every detail of the previous four instalments.

The action itself will reportedly be simpler but creatively staged. Gibson described one sequence as a foot chase filmed almost like a car chase, suggesting that the filmmakers are looking for ways to preserve the franchise’s familiar kinetic style without simply repeating its past.

The bigger emphasis, however, will be on the people at the heart of the story.

Mel Gibson Wants to Direct

Gibson also confirmed that he would “absolutely” like to direct the fifth film.

That ambition has an emotional connection to the franchise’s original filmmaker, Richard Donner, who directed all four original Lethal Weapon films.

Gibson recalled a conversation with Donner in which the veteran filmmaker asked him to take over the franchise if he was no longer able to direct it.

At the time, Gibson said he dismissed the possibility, telling Donner not to talk as though he was going anywhere.

Donner died in 2021.

According to Gibson, he later learned that Donner had also expressed his wish to other people involved with the franchise. Those individuals subsequently encouraged Gibson to step into the director’s chair.

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Donner’s Final Lethal Weapon Story

The screenplay also carries a significant connection to Donner.

Gibson revealed that Richard Donner had been working on the fifth film when he was in his 90s. After Donner’s death, Gibson worked with writer Richard Wenk to finish the screenplay.

The pair approached the script with one question in mind: what would Donner have wanted?

That process has left Gibson particularly confident about the finished story.

“I think that the fifth script is better than all of the others,” he said.

For fans who have spent years waiting for another Riggs and Murtaugh adventure, that is certainly a bold promise.

Why Has Lethal Weapon 5 Taken So Long?

Despite the completed screenplay, the movie has not yet entered production.

Gibson described the project as being caught in “industrial film hell”, blaming complications at the studio level for preventing the movie from moving forward.

The situation could potentially change following developments involving Warner Bros. and Paramount. Gibson suggested that the project’s future could become clearer if the corporate changes surrounding the studios create a new opportunity for the sequel.

He estimated that audiences could potentially see the film in another year or so, although there is currently no confirmed production or release date.

A Franchise That Refuses to Stay Retired

The original Lethal Weapon arrived in 1987, with Richard Donner directing and Shane Black credited as writer. The film introduced audiences to the unlikely partnership between Gibson’s reckless Martin Riggs and Danny Glover’s cautious Roger Murtaugh.

Its success produced three sequels: Lethal Weapon 2 in 1989, Lethal Weapon 3 in 1992 and Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998.

The franchise later made the jump to television, with Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans playing Riggs and Murtaugh in the Fox series that premiered in 2016 and ran for three seasons.

Now, almost 30 years after the last theatrical instalment, the possibility of seeing Gibson and Glover return remains alive.

The biggest question is no longer whether a Lethal Weapon 5 script exists it does.

The question is whether the studio machinery will finally allow Riggs and Murtaugh to get back on the road.