While Lethal Weapon 5 is only the latest in a long line of ‘80s franchise reboots, this does mean that the Lethal Weapon revival can learn a lot from its earlier mistakes. For Hollywood hit-makers, ‘80s nostalgia is seemingly the gift that keeps giving. The trend began as far back as 2013 when the ‘80s-set sitcom The Goldbergs cast its rose-colored view back on the era of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Netflix’s mega-hit Stranger Things soon followed, as did a never-ending stream of multiplex arrivals that rebooted, re-imagined, and revived dormant franchises from the decade.

If there were any doubt about the staying power of ‘80s nostalgia, Top Gun: Maverick's historic box office success proved that the trend was still alive and well in 2023. As such, it was not a surprise when, despite the Lethal Weapon TV show’s cancellation, Lethal Weapon 5 was announced. Initially set to be directed by the late, great Richard Donner, Lethal Weapon 5 will now be directed by star Mel Gibson. While Gibson has an undeniably impressive directorial record, the actor’s history of public misogyny, homophobia, racism, and anti-Semitism could hurt the sequel’s prospects.

Lethal Weapon 5 Should Avoid Terminator: Dark Fate’s Biggest Mistake

Lethal weapon 4 lethal weapon 5

However, Lethal Weapon 5 does have the benefit of hindsight working in the belated sequel’s favor. Lethal Weapon 5 won’t be the first belated sequel to an ‘80s franchise and won’t even be the second, third, or fourth revival of a long-dormant R-rated action thriller franchise from the decade. This gives Lethal Weapon 5 plenty of expertise to draw on and mistakes to avoid, starting with Terminator: Dark Fate’s problems. This box office flop might have reunited original Terminator series stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but this wasn’t enough to save the sequel from critical and commercial failure.

The failure of Terminator: Dark Fate proved that bringing back the original cast alone is not enough. Hamilton and Schwarzenegger played new versions of their old characters in a belated sequel set in a new timeline. As a result, the movie never recaptured the tone that made Terminator 2: Judgment Day great. Of course, as a buddy cop comedy, Lethal Weapon 5 will unlikely create a new timeline for the straightforward series. However, the controversial Dragged Across Concrete proved Gibson has no problem valorizing abusive, corrupt cops, meaning Lethal Weapon 5 does run the risk of reinventing the franchise’s characters as totally different people.

Lethal Weapon Can’t Repeat Rambo: Last Blood’s Worst Choice

Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo First Blood Last Blood

Lethal Weapon 5 can learn a lot from Rambo: Last Blood, a sequel with so little tact that Rambo's creator was disgusted by the franchise addition. Like most cop thrillers, Lethal Weapon 5 will likely revolve around its antiheroes pursuing a group of criminals. However, the sequel needs to give at least a modicum of thought to the politics of its plot, especially after the cringe-worthy racist Asian stereotypes of Lethal Weapon 4. The last thing the sequel needs is a storyline of evil Mexican villains trafficking innocent civilian women like Rambo: Last Blood, whose story was xenophobic enough to earn the ire of countless reviewers upon release.

Rambo: Last Blood’s storyline was drafted in 2009, years before the U.S./Mexico border became an issue of national significance and a symbol of political division. It is likely not a coincidence that this was less than a year after Taken proved a huge box office success with its story of an elderly American veteran wiping out shady foreign human traffickers to save an innocent female civilian. However, since Lethal Weapon 2’s storyline directly addressed South African apartheid in terms that have aged surprisingly well in the decades since it is not too much to ask that Lethal Weapon 5 avoid Rambo: Last Blood’s tone-deaf plot.

Related: The First Lethal Weapon Is Much Darker Than You Remember

Lethal Weapon 5 Must Dodge The Predator’s Problem

Shane Black says The Predator (2018) is an 'event'

While it is relatively easy to ensure Lethal Weapon 5 doesn’t become a reactionary fantasy like Rambo: Last Blood, it will be harder for the sequel to avoid Terminator: Dark Fate’s subtle, damaging re-imagining of the franchise’s core characters. However, The Predator offers an example of the hardest pitfall for the belated action thriller sequel to avoid. The Predator had plenty of actions and quips but no heart or soul. With a solid script and competent direction from Lethal Weapon’s legendary screenwriter Shane Black, it is tough to tell where this one went wrong. As such, it is hard to say what Lethal Weapon 5 must avoid.

The easiest issue that The Predator fell afoul of was choppy, confusing editing and persistent under-lighting, making the movie’s set pieces tough to follow and even tougher to care about. However, outside of flawed cinematography and lazy editing, The Predator’s bigger issues were more existential. The sequel felt like an unnecessary addition to the franchise and never addressed lingering questions surrounding characters like Jacob Tremblay’s Rory. Ultimately, The Predator felt uneven and unfinished, something that the risky Lethal Weapon 5 can’t afford to repeat.

Lethal Weapon 5 Can’t Replicate Die Hard’s Worst Sequel Issue

bruce willis as john mclane in a good day to die hard firing gun

The heroes of the Lethal Weapon movies have survived a lot of carnage, as is par for the course in the cop thriller genre. Riggs and Murtaugh are tough guys, and the Lethal Weapon movies are escapist, fun adventures, so it makes sense for the dup to emerge unscathed from many shoot-outs, car chases, and fist fights. However, Murtaugh was already complaining about his advanced age with his iconic catchphrase back in the second Lethal Weapon movie, and that was over three decades ago. As such, on Lethal Weapon 5, the pair can’t be completely indestructible despite their advancing age, a quality that made later Die Hard sequels unwatchable compared to their predecessors.

At this stage, the only way to salvage the Die Hard franchise would be killing John McClane solely to reinstate some reality in the cartoony world of the movies. However, the Lethal Weapon series has not yet fallen victim to this issue despite how silly some of the action in the later sequels is. Therefore, Lethal Weapon 5 must avoid this problem by ensuring that Riggs and Murtaugh aren’t completely invulnerable. Unfortunately, the stars of the Lethal Weapon series are 76 and 67, meaning they can’t get away with as much in Lethal Weapon 5 as they managed to survive in the original movie.