Oct 14 2008Phew! 'Lethal Weapon' No Longer a Threat

Mel Gibson has reportedly decided to spare us all from hearing the words "Now I'm REALLY getting to old for this shit!" and has walked away from plans for a fifth Lethal Weapon. From Geoff Boucher's LA Times blog:

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."

You'd like to think he turned it down because you weren't involved, Richard Donner? I'd like to think it's because it's LETHAL WEAPON 5, and he somehow has a quality (alcoholism?) that allows him to not beat things to death like Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone. But no, sadly, Donner's probably right. Except that it was probably equal parts Donner's non-involvement and Danny Glover's commitment to another Saw movie, which is shit he's still not quite too old for.