Michael Caine has made headlines this weekend, as he announced that he would not continue acting after his role in the comedy-drama film Best Sellers, released September 17, 2021.

Actually, Caine’s exact words were “[this] turned out to be what is my last part really”, while discussing the grumpy author he played in the recent film on BBC Radio program Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review. That seems pretty crystal clear.

“There haven’t been any offers honestly for two years, because nobody’s been making any movies I’d wanna do”, Caine said.

“I haven’t worked for two years, and I have a spine problem which affects my legs so I can’t walk very well.”

“You know I’m 88. There’s not exactly scripts pouring out with a leading man that’s 88, you know?”

However, in a twist that was unforeseen to most, especially given Caine’s age, Caine’s representatives have come forward sharing that despite what The Dark Knight actor said, it wasn’t strictly true, saying that Caine “is not fully retiring”. Caine confirmed this in a rare tweet:

Caine is best known for his role as Alfie Elkins in the 1966 film Alfie and has since gone on to enjoy a lengthy and successful career spanning 7 decades. Featuring in everything from multi-award-winning film Interstellar, to crass comedy Austin Powers in Goldmember, Caine is an unbreakable force in Hollywood.

Twitter reacted very strongly to Caine’s initial announcement of retirement, paying tribute to his career and saying:

Whether he decides to call it a day or if he chooses to continue to grace our screens, fans of the actor can look forward to seeing him on the silver screen again.