There's been speculation about another Jackass sequel since the credits rolled on Jackass
3D in 2010.
That last incarnation of the grossout prankfest was so popular that Paramount released Jackass
3.5 a year later, which was full of unrated and outtakes from 3D.
"This is the flying d--- high five!"
But fans still haven't had their fill of the death-defying stunts and excrement-centered
pranks they've grown to love in the first three movies.
In the six years since Jackass 3.5, there's been a ton of buzz about the next installment.
Paramount Pictures supposedly registered a bunch of Jackass 4-related domain names.
Johnny Knoxville said in a Reddit AMA that there were "no plans for another movie," but
they were "open to doing another."
Director Jeff Tremaine announced it would be shot in Australia, and Bam Margera even
let it slip that they were toying with a Jackass sequel named in honor of the crew's late buddy,
Ryan Dunn.
"We just started talking about it.
We want to call it 'We're Not Dunn Yet', like D-U-N-N."
So why hasn't another sequel happened yet?
Is there a worldwide shortage of tasers and poo-cannons that we're unaware of?
Not quite.
Here's why we never got to see Jackass 4.
Johnny Hollywood
Though the show and movies were definitely a collaborative effort, Johnny Knoxville has
always been the pointman for the wild Jackass crew.
As the de facto host of the show, Knoxville brought a certain star quality that helped
transform what were essentially underground skate videos into a multi-million dollar TV
and film concept.
"Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville and welcome to Jackass!"
Between the first two Jackass movies, Knoxville made the jump to actual films, with starring
roles in The Ringer and The Dukes of Hazzard reboot.
And yes, he still returned for Jackass 3D, but he's also talked about the desire to make
films with a narrative.
In 2017, Knoxville completed such a film, which he described to Complex as "not Jackass
but all the stunts are done in the vein of," adding, "It's a scripted film with me doing
the stunts."
That film is Action Park, and it's based on a real New Jersey theme park that had a notorious
reputation for its lax safety policy that resulted in many cases of guest injuries,
and even six deaths.
During an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Knoxville listed the litany of injuries he
suffered while shooting Action Park:
"Two concussions, a broken hand, a sprained knee, a torn MCL, and I got stitches on this
side."
But that wasn't even worst of it:
"I get home from the emergency room from my second concussion.
And I blow my nose, and when I blow my nose, my left eye pops out of its socket."
So, while Knoxville clearly still has the itch to perform crazy stunt work, it also
seems like he wants to tell a story, too.
Star schedules
With Knoxville's career more or less taking off, the rest of the guys have had to turn
to other venues to keep the paychecks coming in.
Steve-O is busy nurturing a fledgling stand-up comedy act, while Chris Pontius, Wee Man,
Preston Lacy, and Dave England have basically taken the Jackass concept and applied it to
a live show.
In 2016, they went to Australia with their "Filthy Seppo Tour," an on-stage mix of stunts
and comedy routines.
But for the most part, they seem to be just biding their time until the next Jackass reunion
brings them all back together.
In an interview with The Daily Journal, Preston Lacy admitted that the next Jackass sequel
hinges entirely on Knoxville's involvement.
"Hopefully, we'll do another movie.
We're just waiting on Johnny Knoxville's schedule.
… In Hollywood, unless you have a contract, nothing is nothing."
Steve-O seems to have the same sentiments, but he put it a lot more bluntly.
He told UPROXX:
"...some of the guys are sort of less busy than other guys, and kind of feeling really
desperate to get another movie going.
Every once in a while an e-mail will be sent to everybody from one of the guys in the cast
saying, “Come on!
Come on!
Let’s make a movie.
Let’s make a movie.”
It seems like a pretty clear sign that without Johnny Knoxville's involvement, that movie
will probably never get off the ground.
A dark cloud
Ryan Dunn's tragic loss in a drunk-driving accident came right on the heels of the release
of Jackass 3.5 and had a devastating effect on the Jackass crew.
Dunn and his passenger, Zachary Hartwell, fatally crashed when Dunn lost control of
his Porsche which he was reportedly driving "between 132 and 140" mph.
His blood alcohol content was .196 at the time of the crash.
Both director Jeff Tremaine and Johnny Knoxville penned touching tributes to their fallen friend
on Knoxville's blog.
In Tremaine's entry, he writes, "He was such a huge part of our family and it is forever
changed without him."
Dunn was also Bam Margera's best friend, and Margera later admitted that he'd spiraled
out of control after Dunn's death.
During an episode of Family Therapy, Margera said, "Since Dunn got in that crash, everything
changed dramatically, and instead of drinking for fun with your friends, [it] turned into
drinking to forget."
While a sequel is still possible, the loss of a beloved friend and castmate certainly
cast a dark cloud over any future Jackass project.
Margera's sobriety
After Dunn's fatal accident, Bam Margera's drinking spiralled out of control, leading
Steve-O to express his doubts over whether Margera could even get himself together for
a sequel.
In a 2016 Reddit AMA, he said, "If Bam can stay sober and healthy, I suppose it's possible,
but I think it's unlikely."
Meanwhile, it seems like Margera is ready to throw himself back into some kind chaotic,
prank-filled atmosphere.
In an interview for the Gorilla Flicks blog, Margera opened up about getting healthy, refocusing
on skating during a lengthy European hiatus, and possibly getting another installment of
Jackass going.
He's even got a concept ready to go, which he's tentatively calling Jackass Hotel, which
would trick the entire cast into thinking they're checking into a hotel to start shooting
the movie, only the hotel is already rigged with cameras and pranks.
He explained the concept, saying:
"Before they know it we just film the movie without anyone’s knowledge.
We f--- with everybody.
Every room is rigged, everybody’s there to prank everybody.
Prank after prank after prank."
But aside from the fact that he basically ruined the possibility of that concept by
talking about it, Margera doesn't even seem that committed to the Jackass brand anymore.
He closed the interview, saying:
"Dear Tremaine…
Let’s figure out something to film again, whether it’s a jackass or a something else.
I like this new Viceland channel and I have a couple ideas, so I’m ready to film again.
I’ve spent a lot of time sitting at bars and drinking, but I’m over that now.
I’ve had enough."
Steve-O isn't interested
For his part, Steve-O seems like he's just plain moved on from the show and movies that
made him famous.
The star famously battled with his own addiction issues during the show.
"Umm, using ketamine, PCP, cocaine, nitrous oxide…"
But he's since cleaned up, and he told The Daily Beast that on top of focusing on his
new stand-up career, he's also searching for a new purpose in his life.
"Now my goal is to find separation between me and that character.
To find separation between Steve-O and whoever I am—and more than that, for whoever I am
to find fulfillment and validation from within."
That's a big turnaround for a guy who once dove head-first into Mike Tyson's fist, just
because he could.
But fans don't have to worry too much about the possibility of a Steve-O-less Jackass
4 since he also told Vice:
"I almost don't want there to be another Jackass movie because I've worked hard to build my
own momentum, and for me to have a little bit of traction, and to be able to be getting
away with having a career beyond Jackass…
I want to keep that going.
But I would never turn down anything Jackass-related."
Aging out
Hard to believe, but Johnny Knoxville is now closer to 50 than 40.
And in the two decades that Knoxville battered his body for the show and movies, he's racked
up innumerable injuries, once after getting viciously head-punched by Butterbean, and
once after flipping a golf cart.
Steve-O brought up the cold hard truth about aging in an email to his buddies:
"Hey, I love working with you guys.
We're all great friends.
It's something really special that we have, but with that said, as excited as I am to
work with you guys, if we're going to another project we need to figure out a way to get
out in front of it and acknowledge we're old.
Because we're old."
And even though he's not exactly thrilled with the prospect of aging, he also told The
Daily Beast, "Now I'm in my forties and I can't post a picture without someone commenting,
'Dude, you got old'...I think I'm pretty realistic about it.
It just points to what's important is to find separation from that."
Director projects
Jeff Tremaine is the director and driving force behind Jackass.
His skate magazine, Big Brother, served as the inspiration for the show, and even employed
almost the entire cast before they ever had a deal with MTV.
"I thought I could make a TV show out of it, and MTV just loved it.
They just ordered a series."
And because hanging out with notorious bad boys is kind of Tremaine's thing, he parlayed
his Jackass success to tell the story of "the world's most notorious rock band," Mötley
Crüe.
In 2016, he produced a documentary about the band's final tour, and recently announced
that he was finally been attached to direct a feature biopic about the band, called The
Dirt.
Tremaine told ScreenCrush, "Dirt is something I pursued with everything I had.
I've wanted to make this going back to 2001, when we were just planning the first Jackass
movie."
Outside of the Jackass-sphere, Tremaine has been chained to the skater/prank show genre,
with producer credits for Nitro Circus, Dudesons in America, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory,
and Ridiculousness.
But it seems he's ready to take a legitimate seat in the director's chair.
Plus, as far as we can tell, a 2014 Daily Mail interview was the last time Tremaine
even spoke to the press about another Jackass installment.
Sounds like he's in no rush to get back to it, and without Tremaine behind the camera,
Jackass 4 will probably never happen.
"Hello, my name's Johnny Knoxville and I'm about to end this movie."
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