Jackass 4 is officially happening, gets a 2021 release date. The often-absurd daredevil franchise made its cinematic debut back in 2002 with Jackass: The Movie. Since then, there have been two more installments and no shortage of laughs along the way.
Originally a product of MTV in the early 2000s, Jackass ran for three seasons before coming to an end. With its massive fanbase and the try-anything mindset of its cast, a feature film seemed the next logical step. Jackass: The Movie claimed the number one spot at the box office after its opening weekend, and went on to gross just under $80 million on a $5 million budget. Initially, the plan for the Jackass crew (which included Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius, Ryan Dunn and Jason “Wee Man” Acuña) was to treat the film as an official send-off after the considerable success of the MTV series. However, once it was made clear how much demand there was for the concept, a second film seemed a foregone conclusion. Jackass Number Two arrived in 2006, and a third film, Jackass 3D, made use of what was then the freshly renewed trend of 3D filmmaking. Since then, there hasn’t been another theatrically released Jackass film, though 2013 did bring the spin-off known as Bad Grandpa.
Despite a fourth Jackass film having yet to materialize, demand has remained high. The concept of idiotic stunts filmed for the pleasure of an audience has changed throughout the years as well, with numerous copycat crews cropping up, such as Dirty Sanchez and most recently, MTV’s Too Stupid To Die. For purists, however, there’s nothing quite like watching Johnny Knoxville or Steve-O do what they do best, and Deadline has now reported that Jackass 4 is on its way, with a March 5, 2021 release date officially confirmed by Paramount.
Though the fourth film has no official title as of this writing, past rumors have indicated that it could be called Jackass 4: We’re Not Dunn Yet, in honour of deceased former Jackass member, Ryan Dunn. Tragically, Dunn was killed in a car accident in 2011 and this has been one of numerous setbacks for the famed stunt crew. Other problems for the franchise’s stars have been Steve-O’s alcohol and drug dependency, which reached a boiling point in 2008, culminating in the star getting sober and becoming a vegan. At present, Bam Margera is having his own battles with drugs and alcohol and numerous attempts at rehabilitation have still not corrected the situation. There has previously been talk that a fourth Jackass film could not go ahead until Margera was clean and sober, so news that the new film is on its way is hopefully evidence of things moving in the right direction in that respect.
While Jackass fans will indeed be delighted by news that after a very long wait, a fourth film is finally on its way, perhaps one of the biggest potential setbacks is the ages of its members. Knoxville in particular will be just under a week shy of his 50th birthday when the film premieres in 2021. The Jackass crew has never taken it easy on themselves and while that’s great for fans, there’s a huge difference between taking on dangerous and painful stunts while in your 20s or 30s, versus doing the same in your late 40s. Hopefully, however, the making of Jackass 4 goes smoothly and ultimately proves that while the years have given us plenty of imitators, there will only ever be one Jackass crew.
Next: Why The Oscars Need A Best Stunt Work Category
Source: Deadline
