The '80s/'90s Lethal Weapon franchise has, like most past film properties, been given a second life. The four film franchise is expanding to TV with a planned series. FOX has ordered the pilot for Lethal Weapon (can't afford to alienate those built-in audiences with a name change) and has cast Damon Wayans Sr. to star. The pilot will be an hour long and comes amidst plans over at CBS for cop-centered movie-to-TV series like Rush Hour and Training Day.
Before present-day 21 Jump Street there was Lethal Weapon in the "buddy cop" film genre. Lethal Weapon starred Mel Gibson, turning him into a full-fledged action star, alongside Danny Glover. Wayans will reportedly step into Glover's role of Roger Murtaugh as a Los Angeles Police Department detective who, "having recently suffered a 'minor' heart attack, must avoid any stress in his life" writesVariety. Gibson's role of Martin Riggs hasn't been cast. Varietyreports Riggs will be a Texas cop and former Navy Seal who becomes a LAPD detective after he moves to LA following the deaths of his wife and child. There he's forced to partner up with Murtaugh and the two inevitably butt heads while busting fools.
Wayans last made news in September of last year after he made comments in defense of Bill Cosby saying the women who alleged they were raped by Cosby were "hustling" him. "Listen, how big is his penis [that] it gives you amnesia for 40 years?" said Wayans, for which he then faced a backlash.
The last Lethal Weapon was released in 1998 and plans for a fifth installment have been rumored. How people respond to the TV series could determine if Lethal Weapon 5 moves forward or if its rebooted entirely.
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