hellur again

Reports of Madea’s Retirement Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Photo: Andrew Lipovsky/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

You say good-bye, and she says hellur: Despite rumors of her retirement swirling since 2019, Madea isn’t done with the silver screen just yet. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tyler Perry’s gun-toting grandma will be swinging her handbag into the new decade with a forthcoming Netflix film. Reportedly titled A Madea Homecoming, Perry’s 12th movie featuring the eccentric granny, to be written and directed by Perry as well as shot at his studios in Atlanta, will reportedly premiere on the streamer on 2022.

Given all the adventures — two being Halloween-themed — that Madea has survived in her storied life, it’s not exactly surprising Perry would pull her in for one last mission (or, let’s be honest, a few more than that, depending on the reception by Netflix subscribers). The director debuted Madea in his 1999 play I Can Do Bad All by Myself, but, two decades on, publicly discussed putting the wig back on the shelf after 2019’s A Madea Family Funeral. “I don’t want to be her age playing her, so it was time to shut it down and move on,” the director told THR at the time. I’ve got some other things I want to do, and in this next 50, I’m going to do something different.” Who’s to say we can’t have both? A Madea-centric rom-com feels different enough. Or maybe a Mad-urder mystery?

Reports of Madea’s Retirement Have Been Greatly Exaggerated