This weekend, Jack Black reunites with Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan and Kevin Hart to dive back into the magical video game world for Jumanji: The Next Level. But The Next Level might just be the last for Jack Black, because he’s ready to put the controller down and say 'game over' for good. That’s right, it sounds like Jumanji’s Jack Black is retiring from acting, saying in a recent interview:
Well, I’ve got another Tenacious D record that I’d like to make. Maybe one more movie. I’m kind of enjoying the idea of early retirement. Not so early. I’m 50. I’ve been saying for a long time that this is the last movie. We’ll see. I can’t really say what my next thing is because it’s too early; it’s a jinxer. I’ve got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. But not too many. I’m looking to wrap it up pretty soon. Ride off into the sunset.
Wow, audiences better catch Jack Black in Jumanji: The Next Level while they can, because he won’t be on our screens for much longer. On the eve of the massive franchise sequel's release, Jack Black is teasing his retirement. The actor, whose prolific career extends back into the 1980s, is planning to make his exit from acting to enjoy an early-ish retirement now that he’s 50.
His Jumanji co-stars The Rock and Kevin Hart may be arguing over who will retire first, but it looks like Jack Black will be first to cross the finish line. Jack Black still has a few things to do though before he calls it a career. As he tells Balance, he still wants to make another Tenacious D record and maybe one more movie. That would make Jumanji: The Next Level the penultimate film of his career before he rides off into that sunset that he is looking forward to.
What that last film will be, it's hard to say, although the Jumanji: The Next Level actor seems like he might have some idea of what it could end up being. He says it's still early, so perhaps he simply doesn’t have another project lined up yet, but saying that he doesn’t want to jinx it and that he has tricks up his sleeve implies that he knows what movie he wants to do next and end his acting career on.
However, Jack Black does allow himself a little bit of wiggle room He admits that he’s been saying his next movie will be his last for some time, so he isn’t guaranteeing that he only has one movie left, just that it probably isn’t much more than that. Basically, Jack Black has far more movies behind him than ahead of him if he follows through on his intention to retire from acting.
So why does Jack Black want to retire from acting? It’s all about spending more time with his family. He explained his reasoning, saying:
I don’t like going away from Tanya and the boys. I spend too much time away from home. Maybe I’ll do a TV show here in town, so I can work the 9 to 5 and then get back home.
Jack Black has a wife and two kids, and he doesn’t want to be away from home as much anymore. That’s completely understandable and as valid a reason as any for him to want to hang up his acting boots. He would still be willing to act if it meant he could be home with his family every night, he just doesn’t want to keep spending months at a time on film sets away from his family.
After the success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, this weekend’s Jumanji: The Next Level seems poised to be just the next step on a road to a long-running franchise. So what Jack Black’s potential retirement means for the franchise and the avatar of Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon, we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe Jumanji 3 (or technically 4) could be his swan song.
Or perhaps not. Jack Black likened his impending retirement to that of director Quentin Tarantino’s self-imposed 10-film cap, and admitted that if QT calls, he’s going to do that movie, retirement be damned. Riffing on the possibility, he joked:
I’m going to star in the final Quentin Tarantino movie and then I’ll ride into the sunset. Me and Quentin, riding off! Quentin hasn’t offered me the role yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s coming.
That sounds like a solid way to go out, especially if it's in Quentin Tarantino’s unlikely to happen, but never say never, Star Trek movie.
Jumanji: The Next Level opens in theaters on December 13. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what movies you can look forward to next year.
