The last movie Clint Eastwood directed was 2024’s Juror #2 (which you can stream with a Max subscription). It was widely rumored to be his swan song, and audiences raved about the legal thriller, with the verdict of critics being that it is an enjoyable flick. However, that was not the end of his directorial career, as the 95-year-old recently explained why he plans to keep directing movies.
Clint Eastwood has been in the industry since the late ‘50s, when he starred in the Western TV series Rawhide, and continued to build a reputation in the Western genre. But the great actor became a great director, starting with 1971’s Play Misty For Me, and he hasn’t stopped directing since.
The Gran Torino actor has continued working in his 90s, with his explanation being that he’ll decide when enough is enough. Age alone will not impact his decision. The same is true now, too. With Juror #2 initially rumored to be Eastwood’s last movie before retiring, he told Austrian newspaper Kurier (via Reuters) why he plans to keep directing at 95:
There’s no reason why a man can’t get better with age. And I have much more experience today. Sure, there are directors who lose their touch at a certain age, but I’m not one of them.
The Mystic River director certainly hasn’t lost his touch. Like Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell cast once said, his movies stand the test of time as they create complex characters with incredible stories. Eastwood’s best movies as a director, like American Sniper and Unforgiven, do not shy away from intensity or moral ambiguity. The vision of the Golden Globe winner is still as clear as ever. So, why stop?
When talking about the current state of the film industry, Clint Eastwood also got real on missing the days of 1942’s Casablanca when filmmakers had new ideas. This is all the more reason why the Changeling director wants to continue making new flicks:
We live in an era of remakes and franchises. I’ve shot sequels three times, but I haven’t been interested in that for a long while. My philosophy is: do something new or stay at home.
It’s a major relief when a director is interested in bringing original ideas to the big screen, compared to remakes and sequels we’re used to seeing. He’s also said he loves to challenge himself and bring new elements to his films, and that kind of mentality has proved to work throughout his entire career. Juror #2 demonstrated that again, and fully solidified that age is but a number when it comes to this filmmaker and his career.
Even though Clint Eastwood turned 95, it doesn’t mean his directing days are over. With Kurier reporting that the American director is in good physical shape and in pre-production for another movie, it’s clear that creativity and drive for storytelling have no age limit.