Woody Allen plans to retire after his next film to focus on his first novel

Woody Allen has announced that he will be retiring from filmmaking after the release of his next film, Wasp 22, to focus on novel-writing.

The 86-year-old filmmaker with 49 feature films to his credit is set to begin production on the movie this month.

The film – Allen’s 50^th – will be shot in Paris, almost entirely in French, and is rumoured to star Isabelle Huppert. No plot details have been revealed, but Allen told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia: “It will be similar to Match Point. Exciting, dramatic and also sinister.”

Discussing his retirement plans, he said: “My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies and focus on writing,” Allen told Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, adding that his next project will be a novel.

He said: “I imagine [the novel] will have a lot of humour because that’s what comes naturally to me. But, if I had a very serious idea, I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing I did in some of my films.”

Allen has received a record-breaking 16 Academy Award nominations for Best Screenplay, for films from Blue Jasmine, Midnight in Paris and Match Point. He has won four Oscars, including one for Best Director for his 1977 satirical romcom Annie Hall.

In recent years, Allen has been embroiled in controversy after his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, accused him of molesting her as a child. Allen has denied the allegations and no charges have been brought against him.

In an interview with Alec Baldwin earlier this year, Allen said he doesn’t find filmmaking “thrilling” any more.

“A lot of the thrill is gone,” the director said, adding: “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.”