Following Jackass Forever's raucous reception, the Jackass franchise's best future is a return to its TV roots. First released in theatres on February 4th, 2022, Jackass Forever acts as a coda to the 22-year film franchise, with critics and audiences alike unanimously declaring it the best Jackass movie yet. As a result, Jackass Forever's curtain call appearance for many of its original stars means that the Jackass franchise will see wholesale change if it continues past a fourth movie installment.
De-facto Jackass leader Johnny Knoxville has stated Jackass Forever is definitively his last franchise outing, with the other original Jackass members Steve-O, Wee Man, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Danger Ehren, and Preston Lacy all expected to follow suit. Yet while Jackass Forever is certainly a nostalgic finale for many of its original cast, it also acts as a passing of the torch to a new generation willing to perform these escalatingly dangerous stunts. Sean "Poopies" McInerney, Zack "Zackass" Holmes, Jasper Dolphin, Eric Manaka, and Rachel Wolfson all shine in the fourth Jackass movie, representing a new Jackass generation should the franchise wish to move forward beyond its founding members.
This said, Jackass' best future is a return to TV following the nostalgia-driven highs of Jackass Forever. While a fifth Jackass movie without Knoxville or any of his original cohort would be far too jarring, giving the new Jackass members a chance to settle and grow their own following via TV series could be a masterstroke. The lack of censorship on modern streaming platforms, coupled with Jackass Forever's box office performance highlighting a continued franchise appetite, represents a tangible opportunity to continue the Jackass brand while allowing the new Jackass stars a chance to earn their stripes in an episodic format.
Make no mistake, removing Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, et al. from Jackass fundamentally changes the franchise for the first time since its inception via MTV in 2000. While the Jackass brand has certainly seen major upheaval before, such as in the wake of Ryan Dunn's tragic passing or Bam Margera's shock exit from Jackass Forever, it has never weathered almost its entire core cast stepping back from proceedings. As a result, a fifth Jackass movie following Jackass Forever would feel hollow in comparison - meaning the Jackass franchise needs to think outside the box if it is to survive.
However, there is a silver lining, with Poopies, Zackass, Dolphin, Manaka, and Wolfson's Jackass Forever performances indicating a bright future for the franchise. Wolfson remains the standout performer in Jackass Forever after licking a live taser and performing "Scorpion Botox," while Zackass and Poopies' longer-standing ties with the franchise mean they feel very much at home in the fourth Jackass movie. This new crop of talent, therefore, has the potential to carry the Jackass legacy forward provided it is done correctly.
As a result, Jackass' best future is returning to a TV series format, with the days of censorship on streaming platforms largely a thing of the past, unlike when MTV's Jackass first met controversy in 2001. Any streaming service bringing Jackass on board in 2022 and beyond would know exactly what they are getting into, meaning the new Jackass crew could earn their stripes on a series in an even wilder manner than the original cast did. Furthermore, this opens up the tantalizing possibility of seeing something like a Netflix-backed Jackass show, with Jackass Forever's massive box office performance likely to ensure future Jackass projects are granted a hefty budget. Simply put, the Jackass movies are Johnny Knoxville and company's enduring legacy after the premature end of the Jackass TV series, meaning reviving it with Jackass Forever's new blood could usher in a brand new generation of Jackass fans.