After spending some time under the radar, Mel Gibson is apparently ready to make a return to acting.

Although Gibson has definitely been busy over the last several years, his primary focus has been on directorial work (Apocalypto, The Passion of the Christ).  It’s actually been some time since Mel has placed himself in front of the camera.  His last major motion pictures hit theaters back in 2002 (Signs, We Were Soldiers).

I’m sure the calculated time off also had something to do with the actor’s brush with the law.  If he could manage to keep out of the limelight, people would eventually forget those anti-Semitic remarks.  Right?

In an attempt to move on with his life, Mel will play a police investigator in Edge of Darkness.  In the movie directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), Gibson’s character will probe the details behind his activist daughter’s death.  The film, an adaptation of an old BBC miniseries, was written by William Monahan, one of the co-writers of The Departed.

No target date has yet been announced for the project.