The Pandemic Forced 'Jackass Forever' To Torment The Cast More Than The Public

The pandemic has had an influence on the way every movie is made, but it had a unique impact on Jackass Forever. In the franchise's previous films and TV show, the Jackass gang always pulled some pranks on the unsuspecting public. That became nearly impossible with COVID restrictions, so the crew had to find new targets: each other.

Longtime Jackass cast member Jason "Wee Man" Acuña recently appeared on The Nine Club with Chris Roberts to discuss all of the little ways COVID-19 made the shoot on the fourth film a uniquely challenging experience.

Without the hapless public to prank, the Jackass guys had to play jokes on one another more than they usually do.

"This next one — because of COVID, and we couldn't fly and mess with people and all that — it's all ... I'll just say this: it's backyard 'f*** each other up' stuff. That's all it is," Acuña said.

Unfortunately, with more pranks being played on the cast, there's also a chance for more injuries than usual. After all, those backyard gags tend to get brutal. Acuña confirmed that he did get hurt pretty badly while filming the movie, though he didn't give any specifics. He did say, however, that compared to filming the previous three films, "This one hurt more."

Jackass Forever began filming weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020. According to Acuña, Paramount Pictures used the Jackass crew as the first test to see if filming could safely resume on other projects.

"We started before COVID, we took the COVID break, and Paramount used us as the guinea pig to see how studios could get back into filming and we had to do all the tests, and do it all. And they're like, 'Well, [the] Jackass guys did it.' It was then used as a tool to get the other ones going ... But, you know, we did all the COVID tests, we did everything and we pulled it."

In Paramount's defense, it's not like the Jackass guys don't already act like walking test dummies. But the boys are getting older and had perhaps hoped that this iteration of Jackass would be a little wiser. Instead, they're back to beating one another up in backyards, only now with gray hair.

Jackass Forever is set to release in theaters on October 22, 2021. The movie features returning cast members Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Danger Ehren, and Preston Lacy. The film has also added new main cast members Sean "Poopies" McInerney, Jasper Dolphin, Zach Holmes, Eric Manaka, Compston "Darshark" Wilson, and Rachel Wolfson, not to mention a slew of guest stars. A trailer is slated to drop next week.