Mel Gibson & Danny Glover Ignite Lethal Weapon 5 Excitement
Fantastic, yet another nostalgia cash grab: Mel Gibson, 69, and Danny Glover, 78, just reappeared on a Warner Bros. soundstage for a Lethal Weapon 5 table read, because apparently audiences still can’t resist “I’m too old for this” banter. According to People Magazine, the action legends arrived separately at the Burbank lot early Tuesday—Gibson sporting a worn leather jacket and Glover opting for his signature cardigan—and proceeded to exchange the kind of bear hugs that make publicists drool. Deadline reports that studio execs insisted on shooting the reunion with minimal fuss, but lucky paparazzi still managed to snag black-and-white Polaroids of the duo flipping through script pages as if they’d never left the buddy-cop franchise.
Look, I don’t *want* to admit it, but seeing Riggs and Murtaugh reunite is a decent reminder of why those ’80s thrill-rides worked in the first place: chemistry, sharp one-liners, and genuine camaraderie. Variety notes that this is the first on-set interaction for the pair since a charity cameo back in 2015—and fans have been speculating for months that Warner Bros. was quietly polishing this script. I told you so when early whispers hit the trades last fall. Now we’ve got confirmation: the two veterans pored over 60 pages of drafts penned by producers James Wan and Dan Lin, teasing a storyline that taps into today’s obsession with legacy franchises.
Of course, real skepticism is warranted. Richard Donner, director of the original four films, passed in 2021, and it’s unclear who will helm this installment. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. is courting both veteran action directors and hot-shot newcomers, so brace yourself for either a nostalgic callback or a slick reinvention. Meanwhile, Gibson and Glover quipped about stunts, reminisced over old injuries—Gibson joking about his unfortunate tumble during Lethal Weapon 3, Glover teasing his “broken toe from a rogue bottle of bourbon”—and generally sold the reunion like a well-rehearsed bit of theater. It’s all part of the game, folks: buzz now, release trailer later.
Script pages hint at a globe-trotting caper that nods to modern tech (hello, drones and cyber-villains) but will almost certainly lean on that timeless Riggs-Murtaugh banter. Fans on social media are already dissecting screenshots for Easter eggs—an Instagram Story from Gibson showed a prop badge, while Glover’s snapchat teased a bone-white Aston Martin. Is any of this a clue to the plot? Probably not. Did anyone expect a different outcome? No? Thought so.
Stay tuned for casting announcements, a director reveal, and possibly a teaser dropping by year’s end. And that, dear reader, is why we can’t have nice things.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
