Bam Margera won’t return for new material in the final Jackass movie, but his previously unseen footage is restored in “Jackass: Best and Last.” Johnny Knoxville says Margera approved use of archival clips, while Steve-O says he hasn’t been in contact with him
The final lap of “Jackass” doesn’t forget Bam Margera—at least not the way longtime fans might have hoped.
“Jackass: Best and Last. ” now in theaters. includes previously unseen footage of the “Viva La Bam” star. even as Margera does not appear in any of the film’s brand new stunts. The movie is framed as a swan song for the franchise. and the decision to roll Margera back into its closing chapter—without bringing him back to shoot something fresh—lands like a quiet acknowledgment of what went unresolved.
Johnny Knoxville said the team reached out to Margera to use archival footage in the film. Margera approved, Knoxville said, but declined to come back to shoot new material.
“Through a third party, we invited him to be a part of the film,” Knoxville said. “But he wasn’t ready, and we accept that and respect that.”
Knoxville added, “I have nothing but love for Bam Bam. And I hear he’s doing good, and that makes me happy.”
Margera, 46, was fired from the previous “Jackass” film, 2022’s “Jackass Forever.” After that, he filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, though he later dropped it.
The legal fight and the personal rupture that followed are part of the backdrop to the restored footage. In 2021. a judge granted longtime “Jackass” director Jeff Tremaine a restraining order against Margera. who had allegedly sent death threats to Tremaine and his family. Tremaine said at the time that he was “in great fear for my and my family’s personal safety.”.
Knoxville’s account also ties the restored footage to what fans remember from “Jackass Forever.” “Jackass: Best and Last” is a mix of new stunts and a look back at the franchise’s best moments. and Margera appears in never-before-seen material during the film’s revisit of a “Silence of the Lambs” scene from “Jackass Forever.”.
That prank involved cast members being locked in a dark room and tricked into thinking a rattlesnake was loose in there with him. Margera was originally part of the segment, but the version included in “Jackass Forever” cut around him so viewers wouldn’t even know he was there.
In “Jackass: Best and Last,” the cut footage has been restored. It lets audiences see Knoxville tormenting Margera and play into his fear of snakes.
Whether that choice is healing or simply closure-by-edit depends on where you stand on what happened after “Jackass Forever.” Margera sued. claiming he failed a drug test because he was taking prescription Adderall to treat attention deficit disorder. He later dropped the suit, but the fallout from the wellness agreement remained a central point in his case.
Steve-O, another franchise staple, said he hasn’t been in contact with Margera recently, but was glad the footage is included.
“I haven’t had any personal contact with Bam myself in quite some time. and I almost don’t understand that because I don’t believe that he’s got any issue with me. ” Steve-O said. “So I don’t know. I’m just glad to hear that he’s doing well. and it’s a shame that he couldn’t really see this for what it was. But it’s also really cool that he got involved in the old footage.”.
In January. Margera told TMZ that while he signed off on using archival footage of him in “Jackass: Best and Last. ” he had no interest in returning for anything new because of how his firing from “Jackass Forever” went down. “I have a lot of PTSD from it all,” he told TMZ. He added. “I’m just too hurt by it. and I already accepted the fact that I don’t want anything to do with it anymore.”.
Bam Margera Jackass: Best and Last Johnny Knoxville Steve-O Jeff Tremaine Jackass Forever Viva La Bam restraining order archival footage