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EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros and producer Joel Silver have set Will Beall to write Lethal Weapon, with a take that will relaunch the buddy cop series with a new cast. Beall, a former LA police officer who patrolled South Central and wrote the novel L.A. Rex, has seen his stock rise at the studio because of his script Gangster Squad, the period crime drama about an elite crime squad that fought against organized crime kingpins like Mickey Cohen. Zombieland helmer Ruben Fleischer has come aboard to direct that film.
Warner Bros has been messing around for some time with Lethal Weapon 5, with a treatment written by original scribe Shane Black. The plan was to bring the original team back, but schedules didn’t match up and Mel Gibson’s image has taken a self-inflicted beating. Beall pitched a take that maintains the tone of the original–a hard R-rated edgy street cop movie. Beall’s repped by CAA and Management 360.
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I don’t care how people see him but to me Mel Gibson is Martin Riggs – I won’t see a ‘Lethal Weapon’ reboot. Retarded idea.. but Joel Silver needs a hit I guess. Same goes for the on-going ‘Mad Max’ reboot. Mel is Max.
Not to mention mad, as well.
Will Beall should be punished for this. I’m voting we start a boycott of his movie Gangster Squad, a facebook page or petition we can all sign.
VOW THIS: I will NOT see Gangster Squad at the movie theatre. Watch it at home (Redbox/Netflix) to your heart’s desire, but DO NOT go to the cineplex.
It should be an unwritten rule among writers that you don’t f**k with classics. And for all those people unmoved by this, just wait until they get ahold of your favorite films. I don’t care if the guy did 20 years in Somolia — you don’t f**king pitch an idea like this. Period.
totally agree
Dumb. So, so, so dumb.
This is one of the worst ideas for a rehash/reboot/remake/reimagining– whatever retarded piece of d-person jargon one wants to use.
The other posters here are 100% spot-on: Gibson and Glover were Riggs and Murtaugh. Bottom line.
Even if my son wanted to see Channing Tatum and Tyrese or whoever the hell they plug in to the roles, I’d smack him and tell him to pop in a blue-ray of Gibson and Glover– and then he’d pass up seeing the new one in the theater.
Just make a new hard-edged buddy cop movie. Why must you call it Lethal Weapon. Sometimes you simply cannot have new actors inhabiting roles that were indelibly filled. Stop whoring out old titles.
When the Godfather is remade, the comet will be very close.
AMEN!
Beautifully put. Just make a NEW (that means original) movie not associated with LW. What is Joel Silver doing?! He made his name on bringing kick-a$$ original action films to the screen, and he is RUINING his legacy with sh***y ideas like this.
The day they try to re-make Die Hard (the best action-film ever made) I will officially burn every movie I own.
Stop it, Hollywood, just stop it.
It just so happens that I agree with you. They shouldn’t be allowed to renmake or reboot some of these movies. It loses something in the remaking. It seems that they are running out of original ideas, so they think they can take a classic and redo it. It is a shame. I love the original “”Lethol Weapon”" series and I for one would not go to see the remake. And my family feels the same way about this.
Gibson has now become a walking parody of one of his lines from ironically Lethal Weapon.
“People think I’m a racist who beats up women and children and nobody wants to work with me. Or they think I’m some deranged egomaniac looking to get psycho-pension and nobody wants to work with me. I’m fucked either way!”
You certainly are Mel. And you’ve no one to blame for it but yourself. I don’t want to see another LW movie, and after Gibson’s antics I don’t even want to see the original ones.
Just let Beal and Tony Gilroy collab on a new franchise rather than waste time resurrecting one that hasn’t even been defunct but 13 years. I’m sick of remake mania!
I agree that Mel is those two character’s.And he was great in them .But since he’s gone to the crazy side , they can’t cast him. That would be foolish and if they recast that doesn’t mean people would go to them either. maybe they should find something new, thats well written and not garbage
Both LW leads are much much older…I think Danny is in his 60s, right?
Why would they come back, except as a Commissioner or Captain? Certainly not as detectives.
how much you wanna bet channing tatum tries to get the Riggs part, you know how much he wants to be considered badass by the public
The “original” LETHAL WEAPON wasn’t original, a standard buddy cop movie distinguished by Gibson’s performance. Look at the numerous copies of this copy that never caught fire. Truly a stupid idea that will only enhance Gibson’s reputation as a screen presence even as his personal image takes a beating. They’ll make him look brilliant by comparison. Didn’t anyone see COP OUT?
Right on!
Regardless of personal issues, Mel Gibson is one of the finest actors we have.
Seems lame. Just make something new.
I have to agree with It’s_A_Fact.
Much as I might deplore aspects of the real Mel Gibson, he is indelibly linked with those characters. I don’t really see Lethal Weapon as a franchise with a strong enough hook, beyond the actors. It’s a slightly edgy buddy-cop series with a slightly unstable white cop and a more cautious, slightly older black cop. That’s it. That’s the premise.
I can’t imagine any particular attraction or loyalty to such a story with a new cast. Why not just make an original film? The stream of constant remakes and reboots is very off-putting for cinema in general.
wet fart!
The major studios are looking for a safe bet with a built-in audience, and this “remake/reboot” mania will ultimately backfire.
Why should I pay $13.50 for a movie ticket to see a lame remake, when I can watch the original film on DVD/Blu at home?
Your last comment hits the nail on the head. This should be the question all studios/production companies ask themselves before developing every project – will this movie sway viewers to leave their big screen, HD TVs? This competition is stronger than ever.
Hollywood really seems to be milking the ‘pre-sold franchise’ idea and it’s spilling violently over into other movie franchises. It’s a fair approach with comic book, video game and book franchises, but movie franchises that ended a little over 10 years ago? C’mon. Dig deeper, everyone, or just give us something new.
Studios need to start coming up with original works again. There’s a lot of good stuff on TV these days. Like it or not movies have competition. The original small budget films are doing well- Black Swan / The Fighter. And big budget films will continue to do well if they are good. New , New , NEW is where its at
isn’t it amazing that in the 70′s and 80′s you had so many great futuristic movies like alien terminator blade runner etc that dealt with the future, but now that we are kinda here a bit with technology and stuff in 2011, Hollywood keeps trying to tell these tales from the past? WTH. And anything that does have something to do with the future is about some alien invasion, not that thats not viable but, Skyline?, Top ID4 in regards to setting the bar in storyline and CGI and we’ll talk
I’m all about writers getting work. But a LETHAL WEAPON remake is the worst kind of uninspired committee-style laziness from the studio that has allowed for creative and lucrative ORIGINAL exercises like THE MATRIX and INCEPTION. Go back to the drawing board, execs!
So when are they going to reboot the Die Hard franchise and what about a Rambo franchise reboot?
So stupid.
This is exactly like remaking Diehard. Who could possibly be McClane, but Bruce Willis? Who could be Han Solo, but Harrison Ford? Gibson IS Martin Riggs.
There is no Lethal, without Riggs. There is no Riggs, without Mel.
Somebody should be punched in the head for this one. Or, at least kicked in the shins.
Don’t forget about all these exorcism movies they’ve been sqeezing out, exoricism of emily rose, the Last exorcism and The Rite coming out this year with Anthony Hopkins – it’s only a matter of time til they go for the grandmother of them all
Is there no shame? Please for the love of “A Higher Power”, leave Lethal Weapon alone. I agree with everyone else, I would not go see a reboot of Lethal Weapon. Lethal Weapon 4 was bad enough and I love those movies.
I will miss Mel Gibson… but I would still go see this proposed flick.
Yes, the chemistry between Gibson and Glover is what set Lethal Weapon apart and helped make a tired genre seem new again. Studios need to stop thinking that making a film “edgy” or “gritty” is going to magically solve everything.
There’s a reason Hollywood still lives in the shadow of the 1980s, and it’s not because that decade was obsessed with remakes or realism. Quite the opposite.
Hollywood is really getting sad. Remakes. STOP. No remaking, revamping, re re re. Just go out and look for good scripts. Take your time and look for comic books or stories that haven’t be made into films… Stop being lazy … Sad. This industry is just sad.
Extremely lame… Joel Silver is over… He needs new ideas and new blood… remaking Lethal Weapon is a huge mistake… nobody is going to care about this when it’s released
This is so sad. If producers like Silver were as fixated on existing material then as they are now, there never would have been a “Lethal Weapon” in the first place. There would have been a “Starsky and Hutch” reboot and it would have sucked ass.
“Lethal Weapon” was a SPEC. It came from a writer’s brain — gasp. The horror. And it turned into one of the most successful franchises in history and today it would never get made. A seventh or eight “reboot” of an 80s TV show that was never even good in the first place, or even a turd that someone over in the Marvel offices dropped and forgot to flush would have a better chance of getting made in today’s climate.
It’s sad that a climate of fear in Hollywood is meaning an entire generation of movie goers won’t be getting their “Lethal Weapons,” they’ll be getting the previous generations’ re-heated leftovers.
LadyJane -
Re: “It’s sad that a climate of fear in Hollywood is meaning an entire generation of movie goers won’t be getting their “Lethal Weapons,” they’ll be getting the previous generations’ re-heated leftovers.” Fantastic point, by the way.
Lady Jane please don’t disparage the upcoming feature remake of The Fall Guy that was a wonderful 80′s show Lee Majors was awesome and the movie will be dynamite. Just think of all the exciting stunts! The feature version of Starsky & Hutch was also an amazing cinematic achievement. You seem to be stuck in the past. You need to get with the program and look to the future. There won’t be any original movies ever. They are no longer worth making. We only want to make movies from comic books and video games and board games and previous successful movies and TV shows. We don’t want writers with brains they frighten us. We want obedient stenographers who will take our dictation and give us what we want. You are now obsolete in today’s entertainment industry.
Next stop – “48 Hours” remake with Lil’ Bow Wow and Jay Baruchel only this time, Baruchel is the convict and Bow Wow is the no-nonsense cop!
A message from Roger Murtaugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q37xJtuQ24w
This is what will happen — it will be under “Lethal Weapon” reboot tag — but it WILL come out w/a new name…
There isn’t enough market power in the “Lethal Weapon” name w/out it’s co-stars — but it will start off under that moniker.
Even though Tom Hardy as Riggs and Denzel Washington as Murtagh would be kind of hot…
Can’t wait for the next Tron reboot!
I have movie ideas but can’t get a literary agent or get my idea to people who have money to make moves.
This industry just recycles everything.
Waiting for these remakes:
ET: Cell Phones Earth
The Thing and IT
Ghandi Meets Jesus Christ
Blade Runner on Roller Blades
Platoon: Iraq
A Christmas Story in July
This is Meningitis Tap
Stand By Me Again
Full Members Jacket Only
Aliens Meets Dora the Explorer
I would TOTALLY go see A Christmas in July Story with Lindsay Lohan giving a tour de force performance as a young girl who finds Santa while serving time for cocaine possession, and Full Members Jacket Only could be a great 80s throwback flick with Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy….gaaaah you’re putting ideas in people’s heads!
Worst remake or reboot idea ever. This movie in all likelyhood will bomb because it’ll never hold up to the original. I’m not against reboots or remakes, but for f-ing sake leave this classic alone.
I’m guessing Warners is going to start off saying they want a hard “R”, then decide they need a more family friendly PG-13 film. LETHAL WEAPON meets PARENTHOOD.
READ THESE POSTS, JOEL! This is a lame idea!!!! My God you’re desperate. Get Mel and Danny back. Without them there is no LETHAL WEAPON.
I don’t quite get the Gangster Squad love. To me it read like a wannabe LA Confidential, without any of LA Confidential’s story strength or charm.
Very stupid indeed.
Hey they rebooted “Dumb and Dumber” with less talented actors, and it turned out to be a smashing success. Thus the “Lethal Weapon” reboot has got to work right? Let’s call it “Lethaler Weapon.” I’m in!
No, I’m not. News like this gets me mad. I need my pills.
I agree with you here. dumb and dumberer made a piddling next to the original…