Woody Allen Plans to Retire From Filmmaking Following Next Movie and 'Focus on Writing'

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Woody Allen

Woody Allen has announced his plan to retire from filmmaking.

The 86-year-old filmmaker told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia that his last film will be his final as he moves forward with writing in his later years. Wasp 22, which he described as "exciting, dramatic and also very sinister" like 2005's Match Point, was filmed in Europe.

Allen's career has been marred by the accusation, which he has long denied, that he sexually abused his daughter Dylan Farrow when she was 7.

"My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies and focus on writing," Allen said, adding that his next project will be a novel.

RELATED: Drew Barrymore Says She Was 'Gaslit' Into Working with Woody Allen in 1996

Allen previously spoke with Alec Baldwin during an Instagram Live in June about stepping back from filmmaking, when he revealed that he had "one or two more" films in him, but ultimately he felt the "thrill is gone."

"A lot of the thrill is gone," Allen told Baldwin of movies. "Now you do a movie, and you get a couple of weeks in a movie house, and then it goes to streaming or pay-per-view. It's not the same. It's not as enjoyable to me."

Mark Sagliocco/Getty; Samir Hussein/WireImage Alex Baldwin (L); Woody Allen

The discussion with Baldwin came after the actor revealed he had "zero interest in anyone's judgments and sanctimonious posts." Allen's adopted daughter Dylan opened up about her 1992 molestation allegation against Allen in a 2014 New York Times op-ed. The allegation was also discussed in the docuseries Allen v. Farrow, which details Allen's affair with one of ex-wife Mia Farrow's adopted daughters, Soon-Yi Previn, whom he ended up marrying. Allen has steadfastly denied the molestation allegation.

RELATED: Woody Allen Speaks Out About Dylan Farrow Abuse Allegations in Newly-Released 2020 Interview

During that same discussion with Baldwin, Allen shared that he would have wanted to make a film with late comedian Jerry Lewis, who was accused by several of his female former costars after his 2017 death of sexual assault and harassment.

"I would've liked to have directed Jerry Lewis, because Jerry Lewis was an immense talent who always squandered it on silliness, and I think if you could control him and focus him in the right comedy, he could deliver for you in a really, really spectacular way," Allen, who has directed films Manhattan and Annie Hall, said.

Earlier this month, Rosie O'Donnell appeared on The Howard Stern Show and discussed why she rejected working with the Oscar-winning director despite being called to do so twice in the '90s.

O'Donnell, who said Allen "had a lot of people under his spell," has been outspoken about the filmmaker for decades. Allen ended up making the film Sweet and Lowdown without her, and before that, O'Donnell had spoken about him during a 1995 HBO special.

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"I had done an HBO special where I said everything about him," O'Donnell told Stern, according to Entertainment Weekly. "And then I got on my [talk] show. So it's the first year of my show [in 1996] and I get a call and they said, 'He wants you to be in [1999's Sweet and Lowdown]. I said, 'Please send him my HBO special.' And the woman said, 'Oh he's already seen it.' And I said, 'Send it anyway with two words: F--- and no.' And I sent it to him."

Allen has won four Academy Awards throughout his career.