Mel Gibson unsure if he'll direct The Passion of the Christ sequel before Lethal Weapon 5

Mel Gibson isn't sure whether he will direct The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection before Lethal Weapon 5 credit:Bang Showbiz
Mel Gibson isn't sure whether he will direct The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection before Lethal Weapon 5 credit:Bang Showbiz

Mel Gibson isn't sure whether he will direct 'The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection' before 'Lethal Weapon 5'.

The 68-year-old star is due to helm the follow-up to the 2004 historical drama as well as the next instalment into the action franchise but has now admitted the production schedules for both movies are up in the air.

When ComicBook.com asked the 'Braveheart' actor which film he'd tackle first, he said: "I don't know, and that's the funny thing.

"I mean, there's various obstacles to getting any film up on its feet, and not just budgetary, but there's like, there's 1,000,001 reasons why something goes and why it doesn't.

"So it's really kind of a c***shoot at this point what goes first and which came first, whether it's the chicken or the egg."

In 2021, Gibson revealed he would be directing a sequel to 1998's 'Lethal Weapon 4' – in which he starred alongside Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo and Chris Rock - after the series' original filmmaker Richard Donner passed away that year, though news about the upcoming film has been slow since.

In June, the actor insisted he was still attached to the project, and teased the flick would retain its comedic tone while also tackling "a couple of hard issues".

During an appearance on the 'Inspire Me Podcast', he said: "Richard Donner, who did the other four, sadly passed away, and he was a good friend. He kind of tasked me with carrying the flag home on this one so it’ll be an honour for me to do that.

"He had gone a fair way with the screenplay, so we’ve used what was there and we kept poking at it. I’m pretty happy with it."

Meanwhile, Gibson and his production team are looking for filming locations in Malta and Italy for 'The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection' – which will see Jim Caviezel reprise his role as Jesus Christ - and have visited the ancient towns of Gravina di Laterza, Ginosa and Altamura.

The actor's publicist Alan Nierob told Variety: "All we can confirm is they were scouting locations recently."