Editing Lethal Weapon (section)

===Casting===
Donner, having just finished filming ''[[Ladyhawke (film)|Ladyhawke]]'', had long been interested in working with Mel Gibson. Casting director [[Marion Dougherty]] first suggested teaming Gibson with Danny Glover, given Murtaugh had no set ethnicity in the script.<ref name=pension/> She arranged for Gibson to fly in from his home in [[Sydney]] while Glover was flown in from [[Chicago]], where he was appearing in a play, to read through the script. [[Bruce Willis]] was approached for the role of Riggs, but turned it down as he found the script "too violent".<ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://ew.com/article/2007/06/14/bruce-willis-if-i-hadnt-done-die-hard-id-rip-it/ | title=Bruce Willis: ''If I hadn't done 'Die Hard,' I'd rip it off'' | magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] }}</ref> This is referenced in the spoof of the ''Lethal Weapon'' films, ''[[Loaded Weapon 1]]''; Bruce (as [[John McClane]]) appears after the villains attack the wrong beach residence, looking for the protagonist. [[Christopher Lambert]] and [[Christopher Reeve]] were both approached, but neither was interested. [[Michael Biehn]] was also a brief contender to play Riggs as Donner had enjoyed his performance in ''[[The Terminator]]'', but he was already committed to ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]''. Other actors that were considered for the role included [[Pierce Brosnan]], [[Stephen Lang]], [[Ron Perlman]], [[Michael Nouri]], [[Sylvester Stallone]], [[Patrick Swayze]], [[Michael Douglas]], [[Jeff Goldblum]] and [[Kurt Russell]]. 

According to Donner: "It took about two hours and by the time we were done, I was in seventh heaven. They found innuendoes; they found laughter where I never saw it; they found tears where they didn't exist before; and, most importantly, they found a relationship—all in just one reading. So if you ask about casting... it was magical, just total dynamite".

Gibson said that "this particular story was a cut above others I had passed on, because the action is really a sideline which heightens the story of these two great characters. I picture Riggs as an almost [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplinesque]] figure, a guy who doesn't expect anything from life and even toys with the idea of taking his own. He's not like these stalwarts who come down from [[Mount Olympus|Mt. Olympus]] and wreak havoc and go away. He's somebody who doesn't look like he's set to go off until he actually does".

The draw for Glover was equally strong. Fresh from his success as Mister in ''[[The Color Purple (1985 film)|The Color Purple]]'', he felt the role of Roger Murtaugh offered a whole new range of character expression and experience: "Aside from the chance to work with Mel, which turned out to be pure pleasure, one of the reasons I jumped at this project was the family aspect. The chance to play intricate relationships and subtle humor that exist in every close family group was an intriguing challenge, as was playing a guy turning 50. Murtaugh's a little cranky about his age until everything he loves is threatened. His reawakening parallels Riggs'".

Both actors were signed by early spring 1986. Gibson and Glover then flew home to pack, and, returning to Los Angeles, began an intensive two months of physical training and preparation. Meanwhile, the crucial role of Mr. Joshua was settled when [[Gary Busey]] asked to read for the part. An established star since his [[Academy Award]]-nominated performance in ''[[The Buddy Holly Story]]'', Busey had not auditioned for a film in years but was suffering from a career slump; he credited ''Lethal Weapon'' with reviving his stardom. In Busey's comment: "I had butterflies, I'd never played a bad guy. And no one had seen me since I'd lost 60 pounds and got back into shape. But I decided to take the initiative in order to have the opportunity to work with Dick, Joel, Mel, and Danny. I'm constantly looking for someone to pull the best performance out of me and any of those guys could. They even talked me into dyeing my hair!" In his ''[[E! True Hollywood Story]]'' biography, Busey says he was hired to play Joshua because the producers were looking for someone big and menacing enough to be a believable foe for the imposing Gibson.