Gibson’s next directorial film might be his last?

While Mel Gibson finally returned to acting in Edge of Darkness after an eight year hiatus, it’s only been a few years since his Apocalypto hit theater screens. Mel seems to be content with his next directorial film, an untitled Viking epic to be his last.

Gibson said: “It was the first movie I ever thought about making. I saw it in my mind back when I was teenager. Seriously, it’s the first movie I wanted to make. And I think it will be the last film I direct. It’s the thing I have been going toward, in a way, since I was young, and I think when it’s done I may be finished.”

The untitled Viking epic is set to star Leonardo DiCaprio with a script by William Monahan (The Departed). “We’re going hammer and tongs on the script right now. When I was 16, learning about the history of the English language I became fascinated with Vikings. And I imagined what they would sound like, how would they talk and that’s what I will be going for in this film. It’s a challenge though. There’s never been a good Viking film, not that I’ve seen. I think I have found the right way to get into it, though, but I don’t want to say too much. The real problem is making those guys sympathetic. They were monsters,” says Gibson.

Without bringing up his personal life, Mel Gibson is a talented director. If he is true to his word, that would be a shame, since he could be the next Clint Eastwood, in terms of great actor turning into a great director. The Man without a Face is pretty underrated, while Braveheart is a superb masterpiece in all forms of film making. The Passion of the Christ is trickier to dissect, but looking at it logically, it’s another well-made film, that is equally as powerful and emotional as Christians have for the story. His Mayan epic Apocalypto is just pure old-fashioned adventure story telling.

Personally, it’ll be a shame to see Gibson go as a director as each film owns a place into my DVD/Blu-ray collection. But going out on this Viking epic film, seems-I don’t know what else to call it?-but epic.

Source: First Showing