Tyler Perry is ready to kill Madea

Everything must come to an end one day, and that includes the life of filmmaker Tyler Perry's long-running character, Madea.

Perry is more than ready to say goodbye to Madea, who has been a prominent character in more than a dozen of Perry's films and plays. In a recent interview with SiriusXM, the entertainment mogul revealed that he's been preparing for this moment for years. E! Online reports that he actually shot her farewell film, A Madea Family Funeral, two years ago. It's set for release in 2019.

"It's time for me to kill that old b--ch, I'm tired, man," Perry told Bevelations' host Bevy Smith. "I just don't want to be her age, playing her."

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Mabel Earlene Simmons, aka Madea, was first introduced to audiences in Perry's 1999 play, I Can Do Bad All by Myself. Taking inspiration from his own mother and Eddie Murphy's character in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Perry was able to turn Madea into a franchise that produced titles such as Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea Goes to Jail, and Boo! A Madea Halloween.

While Madea has been a controversial character — some call her rather problematic — her demise will mark the end of an era in the slapstick style that helped Perry become one of the highest-paid entertainers in the industry. So, get the tissues out and prepare to say "Hallelujer" one last time.