Ben Stiller won't direct any of Severance season 3

This is the first time Stiller won’t be directing a single episode on a season of the acclaimed series. “I’m at this point in my life where I’m like, ‘The clock is ticking,'” the 59-year-old actor said, sharing that there were still a lot of things—like the war film—that he’d like to do in his life. “60 sounds old. It’s hard to get around it… And of course, it’s that other thing of, like, you know what the next one is… ‘Oh, s—t.'”

For now, though, the actor and director doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. In addition to the combat thriller, which will reportedly be centered on an airman who gets involved with the French Resistance after he’s taken down in occupied France, Stiller has also been working on a documentary about his parents, titled Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost (which has its world premiere at the New York Film Festival), as well as prepping for his upcoming Meet The Parents sequel. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean Stiller is stepping away from Lumon entirely. The director has apparently been hard at work plotting season 3 with creator Dan Erickson and the rest of the Severance writers room in advance, to give him the freedom to pursue his film project. For now, though, he’s leaving fans with a little tease. Apparently, the concept of getting Al Pacino—an actor Stiller hasn’t worked with but considers among his “Mt. Rushmore” of potential co-stars—to do a Severance cameo has been floated. If he does show up, he won’t just be a new employee, but could represent a “new department” entirely, Stiller said, before hedging, “I mean, you never know.” Maybe it’s good to get him away from those twisting halls before he accidentally spills any more nuggets.