Is Jackass Forever The Final Movie? Here's What Knoxville Thinks
Like Mike Myers, Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger, or really any horror hunk rising up back from the dead, Johnny Knoxville isn't quite ready to let the "Jackass" franchise die. The MTV show turned film series that also birthed a million other MTV shows (and, unsurprisingly, a video game), will break its 12-year hiatus (if you don't count "Jackass: Bad Grandpa," and I don't) when the latest movie in the franchise debuts in February 2022. Although the title "Jackass Forever" paradoxically sounds like a goodbye, Knoxville has no interest in closing that door. When he says "Jackass Forever," he sure as hell means it.
In an interview with Variety about the upcoming fourth film in the franchise, Knoxville cut right to the chase, saying, "Someone wrote it was the last one, but we never said it was the last one..."
And by someone, I can only imagine he's talking about himself. In an interview with GQ in May 2021, Knoxville confirmed that the fourth "Jackass" would be his, "last contribution to the franchise." And while that statement is vague enough that he could say both things and still be correct, there could technically be a fifth "Jackass" without Knoxville, it's hard to imagine the franchise without him. Is "Jackass" still "Jackass" without Johnny? Or does it become "Jackass"-adjacent like "Wildboyz" or "Viva La Bam"? To ponder this is to peer into the very heart of the franchise, all while knowing that one day, we will, sadly, get the answer.
Jackass 5ever
Regardless, I think the truth of the matter lies in a quote from his fellow "Jackass" stuntman Steve-O in the same GQ interview: "Every movie that we ever made was the f***ing last one. And not just the last one, but declared as the last one."
Knoxville's further statements to Variety seem to back that up, even if he's not quite as candid:
"I mean, it could go on ... we could do another one if we wanted ... I don't know if we want to, but we could let the old guys come in and have fun, but put it more on the young cast. I don't know. After [the first two films], we're like 'Never.' And then there we made a third one and now we make a fourth one. So, we're never saying never."
There are a lot of ways you can view Knxoville's back and forth. Maybe the lead-up to the film's release has reinvigorated him. Maybe he just needed some time after his injuries from the fourth movie before he could start considering a "Jackass" film. Or maybe he'll never be able to really say no. Maybe Johnny Knoxville will be playing this game with us for another 10, 20, or 30 years. If so, that's fine. He's earned the right to dangle it over our heads. Who else would put themselves through that many concussions for us?
(Besides, I guess, every football player, but this isn't a sporty website. You know where you are.)