Shane Black’s Hollywood action movie screenplays are legendary – from writing four Lethal Weapon movies, to Last Action Hero, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and of course – Iron Man 3. The comedic neo-noirs which he wrote and directed – Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) and The Nice Guys (2016) – are widely regarded as a couple of the strongest scripts of the last two decades.
Black’s whip-smart dialogue is highly regarded among critics, audiences, and his Hollywood peers. But not every iconic line he wrote was carefully constructed or calculated. One of his most famous lines of dialogue – which became the catchphrase of Lethal Weapon’s Danny Glover – was added at the last minute.
Black told ScreenCrush in 2016 that the line was; “a last minute idea we had. There are two fun things in this scene. One is, Riggs takes out his gun and he’s looking around for the guy with the gun and then realizes, “Okay, that’s me they want.” And then, of course, this line [“I’m too old for this shit.”] which became the trademark line from the movies.”
Black added; “So many of these things, you throw them away. ‘I’m too old for this shit’ — it just sort of rolls off and you don’t picture it becoming iconic in any way.”
Black hasn’t written or directed a movie since 2018’s ill-advised The Predator. Lethal Weapon 5 is apparently still happening, with Mel Gibson directing, but it’s been rumoured for some time now without much movement towards production starting. Black is writing and directing a movie about a professional thief starring his long-term collaborator Robert Downey Jr. He is also developing superhero movie Doc Savage with Dwayne Johnson, reportedly.
While we wait for more news on both Black’s upcoming projects, and Lethal Weapon 5, check out our guide to the best comedy movies.