After a seven-year break from the director’s chair, Mel Gibson is set to helm a new film dubbed Flight Risk with Mark Wahlberg in the leading role. Moving from acting to directing with the 1993 drama The Man Without A Face, Gibson would eventually go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director with 1995’s Braveheart. Gibson’s filmmaking efforts would also receive multiple Oscar nominations for each of his subsequent times behind the camera, including his second Best Director nomination for the 2016 war drama Hacksaw Ridge.
Now, Deadline is reporting that Lionsgate is set to reunite the former Father Stu and Daddy’s Home co-stars, with Gibson returning to directorial duties. Based on a script by Jared Rosenberg, Flight Risk will see Wahlberg play a pilot responsible for transporting a dangerous criminal for trial. While Wahlberg has worked with Gibson onscreen previously, this will be his first time being directed by the Lethal Weapon star.
How Flight Risk Breaks Mel Gibson’s Directorial Tradition
While Gibson boasts an enormous list of screen credits to his name, dating as far back as the 1970s and his breakout role in George Miller’s Mad Max, his work as a director has often been far more selective. Though each of the films that he is responsible for helming has performed strongly at the box office and resonated well with critics, he has only directed a total of five movies over the past 30 years.
Given Gibson’s proven ability to craft a film that not only appeals to critics but the broader movie-going public, it makes sense that Lionsgate are keen to have him on board to helm one of their latest high-profile features. Coupled with Walhberg’s own talents and audience appeal, Flight Risk is well-positioned to deliver the studio another successful outing. It does, however, mark a notable break from Gibson’s preference for heading up historical epics.
Whether it be the late 13th-century Scottish Highlands, the Yucatan peninsula at the time of Spanish conquest, or the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, Gibson’s directorial efforts are most closely associated with delivering carefully crafted historical epics. Meanwhile, the thriller-like premise behind Flight Risk appears to be a major departure from his previous work. Whether this latest film will deliver the same kind of accolades Gibson is used to accumulating in his time behind the cameras remains to be seen, but audiences will likely be keen to see him reunite with Wahlberg nonetheless.
Source: Deadline
