How 'Jackass: Best and Last' brings back Bam Margera after legal issues
How 'Jackass: Best and Last' brings back Bam Margera after legal issues
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYFri, June 26, 2026 at 12:01 PM UTC
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Spoiler alert! We're talking about some minor details about a scene in "Jackass: Best and Last" (in theaters now), so turn away if you haven't seen it and don't want to know anything before watching.
How could "Jackass" wrap up for good without acknowledging the contributions of Bam Margera? The former cast member may not have filmed any new scenes, but he's still a part of the franchise's swan song.
"Jackass: Best and Last," which has been announced as the final "Jackass" movie, features previously unseen footage of the "Viva La Bam" star. Margera, 46, was fired from the previous "Jackass" film, 2022's "Jackass Forever," and subsequently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.
Knoxville tells USA TODAY the "Jackass" team reached out to Margera to get his permission to use archival footage of him in the film. He approved, but declined to come back to shoot new material.
"Through a third party, we invited him to be a part of the film," Knoxville says. "But he wasn't ready, and we accept that and respect that."
He adds, "I have nothing but love for Bam Bam. And I hear he's doing good, and that makes me happy."
Bam Margera attends Activision and AEG Presents' Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 celebration on May 8, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Margera was one of the faces of "Jackass" from the beginning, starring in the original MTV show and the first three movies. But he was fired from the fourth film, 2022's "Jackass Forever," after he allegedly violated the terms of a wellness agreement he signed with the production. Margera sued for wrongful termination, claiming he failed a drug test because he was taking prescription Adderall to treat attention deficit disorder. He later dropped the suit.
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In 2021, a judge granted longtime "Jackass" director Jeff Tremaine a restraining order against Margera, who had allegedly sent death threats to the filmmaker and his family. Tremaine said at the time he was "in great fear for my and my family's personal safety."
"Jackass: Best and Last" is a mix of brand new stunts and a look back at the franchise's best moments. Margera doesn't appear in any of the new material, but the film does feature never-before-seen footage of him when it revisits the "Silence of the Lambs" scene from "Jackass Forever." The 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 this segment, but the version that was included in "Jackass Forever" cut around him so viewers wouldn't even know he was there. With "Jackass: Best and Last," that cut footage has been restored, allowing fans to enjoy seeing Knoxville hilariously torment Margera and play into his fear of snakes.
"Jackass" cast member Steve-O tells USA TODAY he hasn't been in contact with Margera recently but was happy to see his footage included in the movie.
Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Wee Man, Preston Lacy, Bam Margera, Dave England, Johnny Knoxville and Ehren McGhehey attend the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, 2010, in Los Angeles.
"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 says. "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 "Jackass: Best and Last" using archival footage of him, 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, adding, "I'm just too hurt by it, and I already accepted the fact that I don't want anything to do with it anymore."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Bam Margera in the new 'Jackass: Best and Last' movie?
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
