The release of “Edge of Darkness” on Friday marks Mel Gibson’s first big screen appearance since his cameo in the unpleasant “Paparazzi” in 2004, and his first starring role since “Signs” in 2002. Despite the fact that his big comeback is pretty awful (review coming shortly), the star seems keen to make up for lost time — he’s already wrapped Jodie Foster’s intriguing comedy-drama “The Beaver,” and starts shooting on Mexican prison actioner “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” very soon.
Following that, the star looks set to pair with fellow comeback kid Shane Black, who wrote Gibson’s breakthrough American film “Lethal Weapon,” for Universal’s thriller “Cold Warrior,” about a veteran spy who comes out of retirement to aid a younger agent when a domestic terrorism threat from Russia emerges. The project, which Black was linked to well over a year ago (we’d sort of assumed it was dead, to be honest…) marks the first studio film for Gibson since his self-imposed retirement from acting – Variety alleges that executives have been reluctant to cast him in big roles since his famous 2006 DUI arrest.
As massive fans of Black’s directorial debut “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” we’re psyched to see him return to the director’s chair, and if taking another acting role means Gibson delaying another sadistic guilt trip like “The Passion of the Christ” (he’s set to direct Leonardo Di Caprio in an untitled Viking movie), we can live with that too. The only question mark here is that there’s no mention in the article about Black taking a writing credit on the film – Variety says the project is “based on a script by Chuck Mondry,” so it’s ambiguous as to whether Black has taken a run at the script. The logline could be either comedic or serious, but with Black at the helm, we assume that he’s done a rewrite either way, and tailored it to his wisecracking, buddy-movie sensibilities. Still, we’re cautiously optimistic, and we’d rather Gibson pay his alimony with something like this or “The Beaver” than with a dour revenge thriller like “Edge of Darkness.”