Lethal Weapon 6 was supposed to be followed by a sequel, Lethal Weapon 7, which served as the focus of Season 15's "The Gang Makes Lethal Weapon 7". Unfortunately, the film's production was riddled with numerous problems such as recasting Murtaugh, making the movie appeal to modern audiences and choosing a villain.
Production[]
The Gang's Lethal Weapon movies had always been envisioned as a trilogy that followed the original four. However, the plan was changed for the seventh movie, in order to make it appeal to the current audiences. This especially went towards Mac and his inappropriate use of blackface that he did to play Murtaugh in 5 and 6. Frank agreed to fund it as long as he got a handjob. Due to the use of blackface, Mac decided to not reprise his role as Murtaugh. Dee assumed the role of Riggs.
Take One: The first scene of the movie takes place at a birthday party, where Riggs and Murtaugh are. Dee's ridiculous Southern accent does not sit well with the Gang, while Pepper Jack is cast as Murtaugh (Frank went to get a prostitute for his scene and hired the pimp, Jack, for the role). Murtaugh takes a slice of cake while telling his daughter (played by a doll) that he wishes the whole Murtaugh clan could be here, even though they were dead.
Dee's phone starts ringing, getting a call from Frank, but the scene cuts shortly afterward. Frank complains about his dialogue and his scene, so they suggest changing it into an art house film. They also praise Jack's performance but they ask him to be more himself during the next take. The Gang hires Artemis to serve as assistant director on the film. Dennis also makes changes to the scrip due to Dee's terrible performance. They send her out to lunch so they can shoot without her.
Take Two: With Charlie assuming the role of Riggs, the first scene went through a reshoot. The scene goes smooth, with Artemis telling Pepper Jack to feel more like he's also at a real b-day party. Pepper Jack is told that "this is not his kid" and starts yelling, before pulling out a knife. The Gang just tells Charlie to go with the flow. The phone call comes next. While doing the scene, Pepper jack interrupts, demanding payment, and Frank fails to get pleasure from his handjob, resulting in butter having to be used as a stimulant. Dee comes back from lunch, shocked that they are filming without her.
The scene is cut, and the Gang decides to recast Murtaugh. They call Don Cheadle.
Take Three: The third take commences with Jack as Riggs and Cheadle as Murtaugh. The Gang sees the acting and decides that this take is going better than the last two. After taking some cake, Murtaugh declares that they are getting to for to be cops. Cheadle does the heart-to-heart scene with his daughter; while doing this, he displays great emotional kill, the Gang sees that maybe he is a real actor. Riggs gets a call from the film's villain. It cuts to Dee playing the film's villain, Karen White, an entitled white woman who wants them to get off her lawn, lest she call the police and tell them they attacked her.
The Gang does not like the new villain, so Artemis pitches that maybe villains should not be people at all. Charlie thinks of making the villain a big dog, a bunch of raccoons in a trench coat or some bees flying around in a trench coat. Mac decides that the villain should be an Act of God, declaring that all of history's best villains were all Acts of God. They decide to make the villain a tsunami (deciding to say "tidal wave" as it seems less racially charged).
Take Four: Cheadle takes some cake and has his heart-to-heart with his daughter. Riggs gets a call on his phone and he answers it. The person on the other end tells them to "look behind them". They look behind them to see a very clearly photoshopped tidal wave barrelling towards them. They freak out and think that maybe the tidal wave is an Act of God. Cheadle whips out his gun.
The Gang declares the movie to, so far, be a piece of shit. Frustrated that they can't get past the first scene, they retreat into the bathroom to think of what happens next. Dennis suggests they shoot a path through the wave so that it moves to a field less decimated by climate change. Dennis decides that maybe it's time they listen to the needs of the current generation back. They decide to hand creative control over to Cheadle, having decided that only he meets the requirements needed to tell the story.
Aftermath[]
Cheadle reworks the movie into a film called "White Saviors". Cheadle tells the audience what LW7 was supposed to be, and how out of the movies failure, he pieced together a cautionary tale about what we gain not by learning but by but of what we lose when we are ignorant. The Gang decides to make up for this by doing Lethal Weapon 8, with Mac as Murtaugh, much to the Gang's annoyance.