Mel Gibson to return to director’s chair after seven-year hiatus

Director and producer Mel Gibson will return to the director’s chair after a seven-year hiatus with ‘Flight Risk’.

The movie stars Mark Wahlberg as an airline pilot who must transport a dangerous criminal to stand trial.

The upcoming film will be produced by Lionsgate, Davis Entertainment, and Icon Productions, with Hammerstone Studios in an executive role.

What we know about Mel Gibson’s new movie

The project was announced by the studios ahead of the Marché du Film, the world’s most important film market held in parallel to the Cannes International Film Festival.

No further details about the plot have yet emerged, and the casting aside from Wahlberg is pending.

‘Flight Risk’ will reunite Gibson and Wahlberg after they starred together in 2022′s biographical drama ‘The Miracle of Father Stu’, and will mark the Oscar-winner’s return to the director’s chair for the first time since ‘Hacksaw Ridge’.

Comments on the upcoming project

Joe Drake, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, said that the company was thrilled to have Gibson and Wahlberg team up to make the high-suspense flight film.

“We love the undeniable electric pairing of Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg,” Drake said in a statement. “These world-class talents combining for this dynamic, character-driven film will make Flight Risk one of the most suspense-filled, must-see events of the year.”

Meanwhile, Mel Gibson shared how the project came to be in the first place.

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

“He did indeed pass away,” Gibson continued, “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.”