Richard Donner directed Mel Gibson in all four Lethal Weapon movies, as well as Conspiracy Theory and Maverick. Of the oft-rumored Lethal Weapon 5, Donner tells the LA Times it’s not going to happen because Mel doesn’t want it to.

“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.”

Problem was, Donner had his own plans for a sequel based on a story by him and the writer of Lethal Weapon 4, but Warners was more interested in a spec idea from Shane Black, who’d taken his script to Joel Silver.

The news of the Silver and Black project stirred press coverage and considerable blogosphere interest this summer, especially after actor Columbus Short said he was up for a supporting role and that the project was being fast-tracked. It was all frustrating for odd-man-out Donner… who had a falling out with Silver a few years ago, and didn’t enjoy being excluded from a franchise that he considers his signature work.
“Joel Silver tried to ace me out of it. He tried to put it together but made sure he didn’t do it until my contract was up. You know, it’s typical of the man. A guy who wasn’t even around at the beginning when we started on the first one. He came in late.”

If Richard Donner is to be believed, a fifth Lethal Weapon requires the approval of Mel Gibson, and Mel Gibson is loyal to Donner. Further complicating sequel plans, Gibson believes pigeons are the Jews of the sky.

I’m not one who likes to brag about being right because I’m almost always wrong, but I think you’ll have to agree, I was pretty close this time! Here’s what I said about Lethal Weapon 5 last time I wrote about it:

You know the new cops would just be Nick Cannon and some squinty white guy like Josh Hartnet or Taters Channing or whatever his name is.

Today, the rumor is that Lethal Weapon 5 is on the fast track, and that Columbus Short is up for the role of Murtaugh’s son.  See how close I was? Okay, I know Columbus Short is not Nick Cannon, Columbus Short was in Stomp the Yard and Nick Cannon was in Drumline.  But come on, Drumline, Stomp the Yard – all those movies look exactly the same!

Wait, hold on, that came out wrong…  Crap, I’m gonna get letters about this, aren’t I.

When Shane Black was announced as the director of Cold Warrior the other day, it led many to believe the rumored Lethal Weapon 5 was off.  But now EW reports that Black is still interested in it and is waiting on the okay from Mel Gibson.

Truth is, the delay has nothing to do with Black, who wrote the first Lethal script and has penned a long treatment for a fifth iteration. (In fact, he plans to take over the director’s reins from Richard Donner.) Lethal number 5 still hinges on Mel Gibson, who’s currenlty filming Edge of Darkness in Boston. Longtime Lethal producer Joel Silver has been trying to nail down approval from Gibson about Black’s approach, which includes introducing a pair of young NYPD cops. [EW]

Hmm, I think I see the problem here. The guy trying to talk Mel Gibson into this is named Joel Silver.   He just wants to chat, but every time he calls, Mel’s convinced he’s trying to start a war.  Anyway, it’s probably just as well.  You know the new cops would just be Nick Cannon and some squinty white guy like Josh Hartnet or Taters Channing or whatever his name is.