movies

Filmmaker Mel Gibson has a couple of key sequels on his slate to direct in the coming years – namely a follow-up to “The Passion of the Christ” and a fifth “Lethal Weapon” entry.

Both projects have been floated as possibilities for many years now, but they have also taken on a new urgency recently and are seemingly much closer to fruition than ever before.

Gibson is also an industry veteran and is well aware of how film productions are all about various elements aligning just right – a big reason why so many filmmakers have multiple projects in development as you never know which one may suddenly be ready to move forward.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, Gibson was asked what film he would direct first to which he said it’s not completely clear which of the films might go sooner:

“I don’t know, and that’s the funny thing, I mean, there’s various obstacles to getting any film up on its feet, and not just budgetary, but there’s like, there’s 1,000,001 reason why something goes and why it doesn’t. So it’s really kind of a crapshoot at this point. You know, what goes first and which came first, whether it’s the chicken or the egg.”

The comments follow on from Gibson revealing earlier this year that he was still planning on directing “Lethal Weapon 5,” stepping in for the late Richard Donner who passed away in 2021.

Donner had done a bunch of work on a screenplay for a fifth film with Gibson getting further work done on it and, as of earlier this year, he was “pretty happy” with how it turned out.

The comments also follow reports a week ago that Gibson has been in Malta with a production team scouting potential filming locations for the “Passion” sequel and production could begin as soon as early next year.

Personal opinion, neither? 🤷‍♂️😄