Its been 23 years since the last film in the popular franchise and while many thought the sad death of director Richard Donner may have ended the chances of a fourth sequel, Mel Gibson has confirmed he will direct and star in the long planned Lethal Weapon 5.

This is what Gibson had to say when he announced the news:

‘The man who directed all the Lethal films, Richard Donner, he was a big guy,

Donner ‘was developing the screenplay and he got pretty far along with it. And he said to me one day, “Listen kid, if I kick the bucket you will do it.” And I said: “Shut up.”

‘But he did indeed pass away. But he did ask me to do it and at the time I didn’t say anything. He said it to his wife and to the studio and the producer. So I will be directing the fifth one.“

Production is expected to start in 2022 and expect co-star Danny Glover to sign on in the coming weeks,