PETA has called for all animal scenes in the new Jackass movie to be removed after the trailer teased stunts featuring a bull, snake, tarantula and bear. Check it out below:
The long awaited fourth instalment of the hit series is set to land in cinemas later this year, seeing the return of Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the hare-brained gang.
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But while most fans were pumped at seeing the new trailer last week, the animal rights group accused the movie of 'normalizing animal exploitation' and says the stunts are harming the animals involved.
In a statement about the film, PETA said: "Jackass stunts are violent and vulgar, but if the talent is willing and the wounds are self-inflicted, that's one thing - however, it's quite another when animals are exploited, harassed, and harmed: That's cruelty.
"The Jackass Forever trailer shows Knoxville's crew provoking a snake and a bull to the point of attack, treating a tarantula like a game piece, and coercing a chained bear to eat honey off a bound participant.
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"Four months before its release, Jackass Forever has already risked normalizing animal exploitation and legitimizing the cruel exhibitors who pimp out animals for productions.
"PETA is urging producers to remove stunts involving animals from the film."
LADbible has contacted Paramount - the film's distributor - for a comment.
The new Jackass film reunites Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man, Danger Ehren and Preston Lacy, who are joined by the likes of Jasper, Rachel Wolfson, Sean 'Poopies' McInerney, Zach Holmes and Eric Manaka.
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Its synopsis reads: "Celebrating the joy of being back together with your best friends and a perfectly executed shot to the dingdong, the original Jackass crew return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd, and often dangerous displays of comedy with a little help from some exciting new cast.
"Johnny and the team push the envelope even further on October 22nd in Jackass Forever."
In the trailer we see throwbacks from iconic Jackass stunts, including the classic alligator-to-the-nipple, which was inflicted on Knoxville in the original movie back in 2002.
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"When was the last time you got together with old friends to laugh your asses off?" captions say, before we hear those iconic words: "Hello, I'm Johnny Knoxville and welcome to Jackass!"
The action is then suddenly brought slap-bang into the present-day, with Knoxville blasted out of a giant cannon while dressed as a bird - enjoying far more success than with previous lake jumps as he gains some serious air.
Chris Pontius then says: "A lot of people ask, 'What will Jackass be like once we're older?' Well, it'll get more mature."
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Of course, the excerpts that follow prove that nothing could be further from the truth, as we see people being slapped into a swimming pool by giant hands, thrown into the air from a toilet, and having baseballs directed at their unmentionables.
Jackass Forever is out on 22 October.
Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Animal Rights, stunt, US Entertainment, Animals, Jackass