Since the turn of the century we have seen a seismic shift in the type of content being produced in Hollywood, with one of the driving forces behind that shift being MTV. Originally conceived in 1981, the network has a long and rich history of being on the forefront of popular culture and has produced an array of classic projects that still resonate with fans today. Among those projects is the physical comedy franchise Jackass which first aired in the year 2000 and saw a group of young men put their bodies through egregious stunts for the pleasure of millions of Americans. The original series was even so successful that they ended up producing several Jackass films as well, with the most recent being 2013’s Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa. While those young men who made the franchise so popular in the first place might not be quite as young anymore, they’re still as eager as ever to appease fans and the latest trailer for their newest project Jackass Forever certainly proves that.
The brainchild of Jeff Tremaine, Spike Jonze and Johnny Knoxville, Jackass took a group of naive young men with a desire for success and a willingness to achieve it by any means necessary and essentially allowed them to put on a circus in virtually every episode. This circus was a little more violent than you’d expect however, with said young men, among them the likes of stuntman Steve-O and skateboarder Bam Margera, performing a myriad of painful stunts that would make viewers both cringe and laugh hysterically at the same time without fail. Jackass was one of those series that very much helped define the ethos of the early 2000’s and its place is equally as cemented in the history of popular culture, however Knoxville and his crew are not done quite yet with the release of the franchise’s final chapter Jackass Forever just weeks away. In the latest trailer for the film, reposted below, we can see many of the same faces we have grown accustomed to seeing throughout Jackass’ memorable run, as well as some new ones such as Eric Andre, as they put themselves through the ringer one more time and somehow still find new ways to punish their bodies for their fan’s enjoyment. Those fans don’t have to wait much longer, with Jackass Forever set to hit theaters on February 4th.
Jackass helped make stars out of men like Knoxville and Steve-O, and as a result they have remained true to their roots and loyal to their fans since the very first episode. This is made evident by the fact that although they are all successful men with their own platforms now, they are still as excited as their fans about the latest chapter of the Jackass franchise. A bittersweet ending to say the least, die hard fans of Jackass can catch the franchise’s final film Jackass Forever on February 4th.
