It’s the end of an era. Tyler Perry is wrapping up his long-running “Madea” stage and movie franchise next year.
The media mogul announced the news during a stop on SiriusXM’s “Bevelations” Monday, Oct. 29, explaining the final Madea film will be “Tyler Perry’s a Madea Family Funeral,” which The Wrap reported will open March 1. It’s not exactly clear whose off-kilter funeral the family will attend.
“It’s time for me to kill that old b—-,” Perry says with a laugh. “I’m tired, man. I’m tired. I’m doing one last tour in 2019, the farewell tour, and the last movie is ‘Madea Funeral’ that I shot two years ago. So we gon’ say goodbye to her. Don’t tell her.
“I just don’t want to be her age playing her,” he adds.
Madea was 68 when Perry debuted her in the play, “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” in 1999. According to Vanity Fair, the character has appeared in dozens of TV shows, movies and stage productions and has made $500 million in global film revenue.
While Perry himself is eager to move on, fans are saddened they’ll be losing the character they’ve loved for 20 years.
“I’m actually sad now, Boo 2 was terrific.”
“NO NO NO.. Madea needs to be save.. Let her run off with a younger man on a cruise and get lost at sea.. This will leave the audience hoping and wishing she would return some day but she won’t..But maybe she will come back as a man.. LOl.. The flip side of her…I’m sad she will be missed…”
“Damn. 2019 makes 20 years he been playing Madea and now he aint playing her no more. Everybody finna be sad.”
Yet fans shouldn’t be too stunned by Perry’s news. He’s long indicated before that he wouldn’t mind giving up the Madea costume, even though audiences love her.
“It is definitely about the audience and it’s also about the amount of joy she brings to people, and the amount of people that she keeps employed,” Perry told Yahoo Entertainment in 2012. “So absolutely, that’s what it’s about. But I would be pretty good with passing it on.”
