It looks like Mel Gibson fans will have to make do with those old DVD box sets of Mad Max and Lethal Weapon.

Hot on the heels of the news that Mel wont be returning to Mad Max comes official news that Warner Bros. has given up on the Lethal Weapon franchise due to Mel's lack of interest.

Clint Morris at Moviehole (who appears to have a mole deep inside the Warner Bros lot) spoke with an executive who said :

"That one is as good as dead. It won't happen. Which is a pity"

Franchise creator Shane Black had written a script for a fifth film and producer Joel Silver had the writer in the frame to direct, but Mel Gibson's loyalties lay with original director (and mentor) Richard Donner who was sidelined from the project due to a very public falling out with Silver.

Donner also had a script for a fifth film in the action franchise written by Channing Gibson (no relation to Mel) but Mel feels that the character of Martin Riggs has come to his natural end and doesn't see the point of returning to the role.

Having said that apparently Gibson and Donner have a film in development which they plan to shoot next year - so there is the chance that they may get around to talking about Lethal Weapon. However, the Warner Bros source said:

''It could (come up) but I don't think it will happen that way either".

A shame, but he at least they're not going to do an animated sequel without Gibson's voice.

Source: Moviehole