Director Richard Donner sparked the rumor that the Hollywood actor won't be reprising his role as Martin Riggs in the fifth proposed film.
- Oct 15, 2008
AceShowbiz - Mel Gibson will not take a run at "Lethal Weapon 5". The conviction of Gibson's reluctance to sign on with the new flick comes from Richard Donner, the director and producer of "Lethal Weapon" franchise, in an exclusive interview with Los Angeles Times on October 13.
"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." However, up to date, there is no official statement related to Donner's statement from Gibson's camp.
Not only did he talk about Gibson, but also he shared about him being excluded from the flick. He said, "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."
The speculation on the making of the fifth "Lethal Weapon" project has been sparked by writer Shane Black when he came up with "Lethal Weapon 5" script to producer Silver, another holder of the "Lethal" franchise. The flick reportedly is seen as an opportunity for reuniting Gibson's Riggs with his old partner, Danny Glover's Roger Murtaugh.
"Lethal Weapon 5" allegedly will see the participation of actor Columbus Short. Short has been caught in the rumors earlier as IGN reported that Silver has discussed with Short about him playing the son of Murtaugh.
