Last year, Tyler Perry fans were surprised to learn that, contrary to his earlier vow to retire the character, Perry’s popular Mabel “Madea” Simmons would be returning to the big screen for the 11th film in the record-breaking Madea series. Netflix’ Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming sees the titular character returning home for her great-grandson’s graduation from college. Perry has now warned us that his iconic character will not just continue to live on through the movies, he has plans for future Madea projects.
In an interview with Collider, Perry outlined future plans for Madea properties, including Mabel, a prequel series.
Her life in the ‘70s was always really interesting to me, so I wanted to empower a real actress to go in and play the role and see what that would be like. We’re in the beginning processes of writing that script to see what happens.I know her pretty well, so it would be pretty interesting for anything to surprise me because she’s pretty much done it all.
Starting in the 1990s, Tyler Perry has built a media empire starting with hit plays, which sold hundreds of thousands of DVD recordings. In 2005, he bucked Hollywood conventional thinking when his film Diary of a Mad Black Woman, (based on his 2001 hit stage play of the same name) opened at number one at the box office, earning $21.5 million in its opening weekend on a $5 million budget. At the centre of several of his subsequent movies, TV series, and two Halloween horror films based on a Chris Rock riff has been his signature character Mabel “Madea” Simmons, played by Perry himself, a tough-talking grandma who dispenses love and wisdom but also isn’t afraid to throw fists.
Outside of the many performances in his signature Madea series, Perry had been working as an actor in projects including Vice and the Star Trek film reboot series. If that wasn’t enough, he created, wrote, produced, and acted in 14 TV series, partnering with Oprah Winfrey on her Oprah Winfrey Network, and opened his own 330-acre film studio in Atlanta.
When Collider asked if he had any dream projects for Madea, Perry hinted that he’d love to have her crossover with Oprah in a project. Considering that they’re business partners, that may not be that far off.
Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming can be seen on Netflix now.