Lethal Weapon (franchise)

Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon collection Blu-ray cover
Directed by	Richard Donner
Produced by	Richard Donner Joel Silver
Screenplay by	Lethal Weapon: Shane Black Lethal Weapon 2: Jeffrey Boam Lethal Weapon 3: Jeffrey Boam Robert Mark Kamen Lethal Weapon 4: Channing Gibson
Story by	Lethal Weapon 2: Shane Black Warren Murphy Lethal Weapon 3: Jeffrey Boam Lethal Weapon 4: Jonathan Lemkin Alfred Gough Miles Millar
Starring	Films: Mel Gibson Danny Glover TV series: Clayne Crawford Damon Wayans
Music by	Michael Kamen Eric Clapton David Sanborn
Production company	Silver Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	1987–present
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$215 million
Box office	$955,237,243

Lethal Weapon is an American buddy cop action franchise created by Shane Black that focuses on two Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) detectives, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. The franchise consists of four films released during the 1980s and 1990s, as well as a television series in 2016. All four films in the series were directed by Richard Donner and also share many of the same core cast members, while the television series recast the main roles with younger actors instead.

Films

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Anxious with age and retirement, homicide detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is partnered with young and suicidal narcotics officer Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). Together, they work the case of the alleged suicide of Amanda Hunsaker, daughter of a wealthy businessman who served with Murtaugh in Vietnam. Murtaugh and Riggs soon discover that Hunsaker was involved in a heroin-smuggling scheme led by a retired general (Mitchell Ryan) and his lead enforcer (Gary Busey).

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

During a car chase, Riggs and Murtaugh stumble upon a trunk full of smuggled South African Krugerrands. This sparks a series of attempts at their lives, forcing them to take a less dangerous case, protecting Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), a loud-mouthed whistleblower. However, they realize that Getz was involved in the same South African illegal activities. As a result, they become entangled in a drug-smuggling operation involving South African diplomats in Los Angeles, using their immunity as a shield. Riggs kills the murderer of his wife who is among the criminals.

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

As Murtaugh, who is one week from retiring, and Riggs investigate a robbery committed using a duplicate armored car, they find themselves in the middle of an Internal Affairs investigation led by Sergeant Lorna Cole (Rene Russo). The subject of the investigation is a rogue AWOL cop (Stuart Wilson) who is stealing impounded weapons and selling them on the black market. During the investigation, Murtaugh shoots and kills a teenager who attacks him and Riggs; he turns out to be a friend of his own son. This prompts Murtaugh to capture the man responsible for the distribution of illegal firearms and to rethink his retirement.

Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

While both Lorna, and Murtaugh's daughter Rianne are pregnant, Riggs and Murtaugh must pair with rookie Detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock) to investigate a Chinese immigrant smuggling ring. Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li) is a ruthless enforcer who personally attempts to murder Murtaugh's family by burning them alive in their own home. As the story progresses, Murtaugh discovers that Lee is the father of his daughter's unborn child. Murtaugh and Riggs slay dozens of Chinese gangsters and ultimately manage to catch up with the boss of the smuggling ring.

Future

There has been talk of a fifth Lethal Weapon film, although both Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have expressed disinterest. In 2007, Moviehole.net received word from sources that Warner Bros. were in the early stages of trying to relaunch the Lethal Weapon series sometime in 2009 or later.^[1] A spec script treatment was written by Shane Black,^[2] leading to rumors that the sequel was on fast track by Warner Bros. with Black in the director's chair. Actor Columbus Short said he was being considered for the role of Murtaugh's son.^[3] Director Richard Donner was not involved with these plans, but had his own ideas for a Lethal Weapon 5. According to the LA Times, Gibson refused to reprise his role as Martin Riggs for the fifth time, which Donner thought was out of personal loyalty because Donner is not involved.^[4] Joel Silver later confirmed Gibson’s lack of interest in the project.^[5] "We talked about it, but it was something that Mel didn't want to do now," he explained. "It doesn't mean that he doesn't want to do it ever, but as of right now, he doesn't."^[6] There are presently no plans for a fifth movie. It was reported by The Tracking Board that the studio was planning to reboot the film series with the working title "Lionhunters", with Justin Lin directing, Will Beall writing, Black involved in the new film and Chris Hemsworth on the producers' radar for the starring role.^[7] The movie reboot with Hemsworth has been put on hold because of the TV series reboot.

Television

Lethal Weapon (2016–present)

Deadline reported that Matthew Miller will create and co-executive produce a Lethal Weapon TV series with Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz for Fox.^[8] In February 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that FOX had officially picked up the Lethal Weapon pilot, with McG directing and Clayne Crawford as Riggs and Damon Wayans as Murtaugh.^[9][10] The cast was further expanded in February and March, with Keesha Sharp replacing Golden Brooks as Trish, Jordana Brewster as Dr. Maureen Cahill, Kevin Rahm as Captain Brooks Avery, Chandler Kinney as Riana Murtaugh, Dante Brown as Roger "R.J." Murtaugh, Jr. and Johnathan Fernandez as Scorsese.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]} Fox gave Lethal Weapon a series order on May 10, 2016.^[18]

Cast

The series is notable as having significant continuity within its cast, with every recurring character in each film being played by the same actor or actress throughout. Even relatively minor characters, such as Roger Murtaugh's younger family members and his L.A.P.D. co-workers, are played repeatedly by the same people (although some of these characters are killed off as the series progresses).

Character	Film				Television series
	Lethal Weapon (1987)	Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)	Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)	Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)	Lethal Weapon (2016–present)
Martin Riggs	Mel Gibson				Clayne Crawford
Roger Murtaugh	Danny Glover				Damon Wayans
Trish Murtaugh	Darlene Love				Keesha Sharp
Rianne Murtaugh	Traci Wolfe
Nick Murtaugh	Damon Hines
Carrie Murtaugh	Ebonie Smith
Captain Ed Murphy	Steve Kahan
Dr. Stephanie Woods	Mary Ellen Trainor
Gen. Peter McAllister	Mitchell Ryan
Mr. Joshua	Gary Busey
Michael Hunsaker	Tom Atkins
Leo Getz		Joe Pesci
Arjen Rudd		Joss Ackland
Pieter Vorstedt		Derrick O'Connor
Rika van den Haas		Patsy Kensit
Mickey McGee		Jack McGee
Lorna Cole			Rene Russo
Jack Travis			Stuart Wilson
Lee Butters				Chris Rock
Wah Sing Ku				Jet Li
Uncle Benny Chan				Kim Chan

Crew

Position	Film
	Lethal Weapon	Lethal Weapon 2	Lethal Weapon 3	Lethal Weapon 4
Director	Richard Donner
Writers	Shane Black		Robert Mark Kamen	Jonathan Lemkin
		Jeffrey Boam		Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
		Warren Murphy		Channing Gibson
Producers	Richard Donner
	Joel Silver
Composers	Eric Clapton
	Michael Kamen
		David Sanborn
Director of Photography	Stephen Goldblatt		Jan de Bont	Andrzej Bartkowiak
Editors	Stuart Baird		Robert Brown & Battle Davis	Dallas Puett, Kevin Stitt, Eric Strand & Frank J. Urioste
Production Designer	J. Michael Riva		James Spencer	J. Michael Riva

Reception

Critical response

Film	Ratings
	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Lethal Weapon	84%[19]	67[20]	A
Lethal Weapon 2	83%[21]	70[22]	A+
Lethal Weapon 3	56%[23]	36[24]	A–
Lethal Weapon 4	52%[25]	37[26]	A–
Average	68%	52%	A

Box office performance

Film	Release date	Box office revenue			Box office ranking		Budget	Reference
		North America	Other territories	Worldwide	All time domestic	All time worldwide
Lethal Weapon	March 6, 1987	$65,207,127	$55,000,000	$120,207,127	#795		$15 million	[27][28]
Lethal Weapon 2	July 7, 1989	$147,253,986	$80,600,000	$227,853,986	#190 #172^(A)	#323	$25 million	[29]
Lethal Weapon 3	May 15, 1992	$144,731,527	$177,000,000	$321,731,527	#199 #189^(A)	#189	$35 million	[30]
Lethal Weapon 4	July 10, 1998	$130,444,603	$155,000,000	$285,444,603	#255	#236	$140 million	[31]
Total		$487,637,243	$467,600,000	$955,237,243			$215 million^(E)
List indicator(s) A dark grey cell indicates the information is not available for the film. (E) indicates an estimated figure based on available numbers. ^(A) indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo).

In popular culture

In the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth", Mac and Dennis Reynolds made a fan-made Lethal Weapon 5 along with Frank Reynolds. This was followed up with the season 9 episode "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 6."

Catchphrases and tropes from the series are often used in pop culture; for example, in How I Met Your Mother, some of the characters have a list of things to do before they get old called the Murtaugh List, named after Murtaugh's catchphrase "I'm getting too old for this shit".

References

1. Kegar, Kirby (August 6, 2007). "Will Lethal Weapon be reloaded?". Moviehole. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
2. "Gibson and Glover Up for Lethal Weapon 5?". ComingSoon.net. August 6, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
3. Vejvoda, Jim (October 6, 2008). "Lethal Weapon 5 Exclusive". IGN. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
4. Boucher, Geoff (October 13, 2008). "Richard Donner says 'Lethal Weapon 5' is 'dead in the water'". Los Angeles Times blog. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
5. Douglas, Edward (November 9, 2008). "Joel Silver & Susan Downey on Sgt. Rock & More". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
6. "'Lethal Weapon 5' is NOT Dead". WorstPreviews. November 10, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
7. Barnes, Madison (May 8, 2014). "{TB EXCLUSIVE} CHRIS HEMSWORTH OFFERED A "LETHAL WEAPON" IN FRANCHISE REBOOT". The Tracking Board. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
8. Andreeva, Nellie (October 2, 2015). "Lethal Weapon TV Series From Forever Creator Set At Fox As Put Pilot". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
9. Andreeva, Nellie (March 10, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon': Clayne Crawford To Star As Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs In Fox Pilot". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
10. Stanhope, Kate; Goldberg, Lesley (February 12, 2016). "Damon Wayans Sr. to Star in Fox's Lethal Weapon Pilot". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
11. Andreeva, Nellie (February 19, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot: Golden Brooks Cast". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
12. Andreeva, Nellie (March 3, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot: Jordana Brewster To Co-Star". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
13. Andreeva, Nellie (March 7, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon': Kevin Rahm To Co-Star In Fox Pilot". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
14. Petski, Denise (March 16, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Casts Chandler Kinney; Sarayu Blue Joins 'No Tomorrow'". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
15. Ge, Linda (March 15, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot Casts Newcomer as Murtaugh's Son (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
16. Petski, Denise (March 17, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Pilot Casts Johnathan Fernandez; Tommy Savas In 'The Fluffy Shop'". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
17. Andreeva, Nellie (March 17, 2016). "'Lethal Weapon' Fox Pilot: Keesha Sharp Set For Co-Starring Role In Recasting". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
18. Andreeva, Nellie (May 10, 2016). "'The Exorcist', 'Lethal Weapon', 'Making History', 'Pitch', 'The Mick' & 'APB' Get Fox Series Orders". Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
19. "Lethal Weapon". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
20. "Lethal Weapon (1987): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
21. "Lethal Weapon 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
22. "Lethal Weapon 2 (1989): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
23. "Lethal Weapon 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
24. "Lethal Weapon 3 (1992): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
25. "Lethal Weapon 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
26. "Lethal Weapon 4 (1998): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
27. "Lethal Weapon (1987)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
28. "Lethal Weapon - Production Budget". The-Numbers. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
29. "Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
30. "Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
31. "Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 2, 2009.