While appearing on the Inspire Me podcast series (via Collider), Mel Gibson dropped the bombshell that not only is a fifth “Lethal Weapon” movie in the works, but that he’ll return to star in and direct the sequel. The original film was an instant hit and gave audiences plenty of reasons to love the prickly dynamic between misfit LAPD detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, neither of whom could stand the other as their partner but steadily became a dream team over the course of a particularly action-packed case. It was a classic buddy-cop dynamic that set the mold for countless imitators to come, but the franchise always struggled to reach the same heights as the original. According to Gibson, however, this next attempt will serve as a tribute to the late Richard Donner:

“I’m gonna direct the fifth film in the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series. Richard Donner, who did the other four, sadly passed away and he was a good friend, and he kind of tasked me with carrying the flag home on that one. So it’ll be an honor for me to do that.”

“[Donner] had gotten a fair way into writing the screenplay and we’ve used what was there. We kept kind of poking at it, working it and I’m pretty happy with it, it’s good, I had a lot of fun doing it.”

In describing the tone for this next film, Gibson promised a return to the “Lethal Weapon” roots, saying, “It’s funny, but it’s also pretty serious too, it tackles a couple of hard issues, so I’m looking forward to it.” There’s no word on the plot or cast, but stay tuned. Either way, this is bound to stir up debate.