Filmmaker Tyler Perry says he’s retiring the character of Madea, the tough-talking grandmother he first brought to life back in 1999. On Bevy Smith’s Sirius XM show Bevelations (h/t Variety), Perry revealed that he wants to be done with the character for good.
“I’m happy to kill that old bitch, I’m tired, man. I just don’t want to be her age, playing her,” Perry said. He also plans to stage a farewell tour in 2019, along with the character’s final film, Tyler Perry’s a Madea Family Funeral.
Perry said that the film was shot more than two years ago, but Perry elected to stagger the release away from the two Madea Halloween films from 2016 and 2017, respectively. He’s also excited to focus on different kinds of projects, including Acrimony, out earlier this year, and Nobody’s Fool, due out in November, both of which Perry wrote and produced.
Related: Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral Gets a Release Date
The character first appeared in I Can Do Bad All By Myself back in 1999, and has since appeared in 10 installments, along with numerous stage shows and TV appearances. She’s characterized by her profane language and shockingly substantial history of criminal behavior. Perry said the character was based on his own mother, as well as Eddie Murphy’s performance in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.
This will also mark the end of Perry’s long relationship with Lionsgate, as the filmmaker has signed on to create new content with Viacom.
