'Lethal Weapon' TV Pilot Ordered By Fox

The Lethal Weapon film series has been dormant for almost two decades, with the 1998 release Lethal Weapon 4 standing as the final chapter... so far. The series really relied on the interplay between a young(ish) Mel Gibson and a slightly less young(ish) Danny Glover, and without one or both of those factors, well, it just wouldn't be the same.

There have been rumors of a reboot, and talk of a revival (with Mel Gibson saying a firm "nope" to that) but now Lethal Weapon is the latest well-established film series going to television. A Lethal Weapon TV series pilot has been ordered at Fox, from writer Matt Miller (Forever). Naturally, there will be a few changes to the basic story, and we'll run those down below.

Variety reports on the new development. Warner Bros. TV will produce the pilot for Fox, with Dan Lin and Jennifer Gwartz, both based at Warner Bros., exec producing with Miller.

Here's how the trade describes the new plot setup:

The TV incarnation revolves around the unlikely partnership between a former Navy SEAL and Texas cop who moves to Los Angeles after the death of his wife and baby and winds up teamed with an LAPD detective who must avoid stress at any cost because of a heart condition.

That's not that mcuch different, and it's a pretty fine way to modernize the basic situation. The real question will be casting, and writing. Lethal Weapon was famous as the first major script from Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) but the combination of cast and material, together with a deft directorial hand from Richard Donner, is what really made the film a hit. That's a lot of magic to replicate.

Not that Lethal Weapon can't become it's own thing, but if you're making a TV series based on the concept and recognizance of a film series like this, I'd hope it would be equal to the challenge of living up to the name.