Lethal Weapon 5: Release date prediction, cast, plot, more

❘ Published: 2022-12-13T13:38:34

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as Murtaugh and Riggs, who are returning for Lethal Weapon 5

Warner Bros.

Here’s what we know about Lethal Weapon 5, the return of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson’s Murtaugh and Riggs, from a possible release date and trailer to cast, plot, and more.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover first debuted as Murtaugh and Riggs in 1987’s Lethal Weapon, directed by Richard Donner. While the genre’s roots date back to Stray Dog and 48 Hrs, Lethal Weapon is considered to be the most significant movie of its kind, setting a blueprint with its mix of hard-boiled storytelling and comedy.

It spawned a franchise, with Gibson and Glover reprising their roles in three other movies. It was revived with a TV series, but Fox cancelled it after three seasons in 2019.

Well, even after all this time, they ain’t getting too old for this sh*t – so, here’s everything we know about Lethal Weapon 5 so far, including release date, trailer, cast, and plot details.

Lethal Weapon 5 release date: When is it coming out?

As of December 2022, Lethal Weapon 5 doesn’t have an official release date at the time of writing – but we can expect it to be released sometime in 2024.

Word first emerged in 2007 of a potential relaunch of the series. In 2011, Warner Bros. planned to reboot the Lethal Weapon franchise with a brand-new cast, which eventually led to the short-lived TV show.

Gibson reportedly turned down an earlier script penned by Shane Black and Chuck Mondry, with Donner believing he knocked it back because he wasn’t involved, and Black was set to direct.

In 2008, Donner told the Los Angeles Times that Lethal Weapon 5 was “dead in the water”, despite him and Lethal Weapon 4 co-writer Channing Gibson “had an incredibly strong story for the fifth movie.”

It wasn’t until 2017 that the idea of a fifth film seemed possible again, with Gibson, Glover, and Donner all down to return – if Warner Bros. would greenlight it.

A year later, Donner confirmed it would be titled Lethal Finale, and in 2020, the movie entered active development with Donner back in the director’s chair. He also said it would be his final movie before retirement.

In July 2021, Donner passed away. Later that year, Gibson confirmed he’d direct the film to honor Donner, and the movie will be exclusive to HBO Max, so don’t expect it in cinemas. The script has been written by The Equalizer’s Richard Wenk, and Gibson is hoping to start shooting in 2023.

Lethal Weapon 5 cast: Who’s in it?

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are returning for Lethal Weapon 5 as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, respectively.

No other cast details have been confirmed at the time of writing, so it’s unclear if Joe Pesci will reprise his role as Leo Getz.

In an interview with JoBlo, Gibson said: “It’s one of those things whereby it’s a no-brainer if you ask me. I’ve worked on the screenplay, which, of course, was started by Donner… and of course, he and a guy had a pretty good template going.

“Donner, of course, passed away. And then I sat in and we kind of finished up the script and I had a blast working with Richard Wenk. You know, it’s a pretty good document. I dig it a lot.”

Gibson cited the changeover at Warner Bros for the sequel taking so long, with David Zaslav stepping in as CEO following the merger with Discovery, which has seen the cancelation of projects like Batgirl.

“They’re changing hats over there… this guy got fired, and this guy took over and Discovery and all that stuff,” he added.

“You get lost in the shuffle sometimes as they try and regroup and sort themselves out. It’ll come. I’m not quite sure when but it’ll happen.”

Lethal Weapon 5 plot: What’s it about?

While there aren’t many official plot details for Lethal Weapon 5, we know it’ll be set in the present day and be the final movie in the series.

We’ll update this space upon further announcements.

Lethal Weapon 5 trailer: Is there a trailer?

No, there isn’t a trailer for Lethal Weapon 5 – but you can rewatch the trailer for the first movie below for a feeling of what’s in store for the finale:

That’s everything we know about Lethal Weapon 5. We’ll update this article upon further announcements, and you can check out our other TV and movies hubs below: