Charles M. Schulz Had One Regret With Peanuts' Ending, And 26 Years Later, It's Absolutely Tragic
Published Aug 29, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT
An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.
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When it comes to the end of an era, some goodbyes are truly too difficult to check every box, especially for a series which spanned five decades of original comic strips like Peanuts did. The series entertained audiences worldwide and remains surprisingly thought-provoking and earnest even today, and while it was certainly effective and heartbreaking in its final releases, creator Charles M. Schulz certainly still had his regrets after the last wholly original strip appeared. This comes, of course, on top of the letter released that same day on January 3, 2000, and expanded following Schulz's passing and final strip on February 13, with special focus on Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown evolved significantly since his more upbeat 1950 Peanuts debut. His character took on a more lonely, anxious, depressive set of traits, balanced out by an endearing sweetness and resilience. The iconic Peanuts poster child harbored a longstanding unrequited crush on the Little Red-Haired Girl, which wasn't ever addressed in the original comic strip. Charlie Brown's baseball team never turned into an inspirational success story, and flying a kite remained a dicey affair when trees were involved. However, these unresolved threads never really needed a sense of finality in order to remain memorable, but Schulz regretted never giving Charlie Brown the chance to overcome one classic Peanuts gag.
After Publishing His Farewell, The Peanuts Creator Stated One Last Regret
To the surprise of nobody following Peanuts across the decades, Charlie Brown could never quite get the chance to properly kick the football. This is obviously not entirely his fault, with Violet Gray, and eventually Lucy van Pelt, having varying reasons to pull away before the recurring bit would become a cruel prank exploiting the boy's trust. Charlie Brown would even exercise skepticism only for Lucy to wear him down in one of her most memorable quotes. As a result, Charlie Brown never got to kick the football even once, although did land a kick such as on Lucy's arm on the odd occasion, and this particular regret resurfaced as Schulz penned his great farewell.
On an interview following the retirement announcement, amid what can be difficult-to-find full archival videos of his discussion with Al Roker on 50 years of Peanuts, Schulz visibly gets emotional when discussing the letter stating his goodbye to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy. In particular, as his mind wanders, he laments never getting to let the boy kick the football. His words on PBS NewsHour are transcribed below:
Right at the end I wrote my name and then it said -- and I'll probably start crying -- it said well, that was Charlie Brown, Linus and so-and-so and all of a sudden I thought, you know, that poor kid never even got to hit the football. What a dirty trick. He never had a chance to kick the football.
It's a sad fact for certain, yet he undercuts it with a wry energy resulting in the moment stinging far less. With that same interview affirming what'd later be put in writing on February 13, 2000, Schulz's family wanted the series not to resume following his death, so in its purest form, Charlie Brown will never kick the football.
Peanuts Fans & Fellow Cartoonists Expressed Their Adoration Nonetheless
Even though Schulz's last interview was a sudden about-face compared to previous intentions never to have Charlie Brown kick the football, there was a sad acceptance that this was perhaps for the best. Pulling the ball away kept the spirit of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts series alive. It promoted resilient notions of accepting failure, not giving up hope, and the courage to try again knowing disappointment is still the likely outcome. But this never stopped creatives from filling in the blanks, such as how, after former Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry passed away that same day on February 12, 2000, Detroit Free Press cartoonist Mike Thompson made a wonderful tribute.
October 2, 1950 – February 13, 2000 · 17,897 Strips How Well Do You Know Peanuts? “Good grief!”
⚾Charlie BrownGood Ol’ Chuck
🐕SnoopyThe Flying Ace
🧣LinusSecurity Blanket
🏈LucyPsychiatric Help
🐥WoodstockBest Friend
PLAY BALL →
01
Before Peanuts launched in 1950, Charles M. Schulz drew a weekly cartoon panel for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. What was it called?
ALi’l Folks BSmall Fry CThe Sandlot DJust Kids
✓ Correct! Li’l Folks ran from 1947 to 1950. When the syndicate renamed the new strip “Peanuts,” Schulz hated the title for the rest of his life.
✗ Not quite! It was Li’l Folks — and Schulz never forgave United Feature for rechristening his strip “Peanuts.”
NEXT →
02
Which member of the gang is almost never seen without his security blanket — and waits every year in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin?
ASchroeder BLinus van Pelt CPig-Pen DShermy
✓ Correct! Linus — Lucy’s little brother, the strip’s resident theologian, and the reason “security blanket” entered the dictionary.
✗ Not quite! It’s Linus van Pelt, whose blanket gave the English language the term “security blanket.”
NEXT →
03
Schroeder hammers away at his toy piano in devotion to a single composer — whose bust sits on top of it. Who?
AJohann Sebastian Bach BWolfgang Amadeus Mozart CLudwig van Beethoven DFrédéric Chopin
✓ Correct! Beethoven. Schroeder even observes Beethoven’s birthday every December 16 — while ignoring Lucy entirely.
✗ Not quite! It’s Beethoven — the one thing in the world Schroeder loves more than tuning out Lucy.
NEXT →
04
When Snoopy climbs onto his doghouse in goggles and a scarf, he becomes the World War I Flying Ace — forever hunting which nemesis?
AThe Cat Next Door BThe Head Beagle CThe Great Pumpkin DThe Red Baron
✓ Correct! The Red Baron — and the Sopwith Camel doghouse always goes down in flames, sending the Ace off to curse him in a French café.
✗ Not quite! It’s the Red Baron. Snoopy’s doghouse is a Sopwith Camel, and it never once wins the dogfight.
NEXT →
05
Lucy runs a curbside psychiatric help booth out of a lemonade stand. What does she charge per session?
A1¢ B5¢ C10¢ D25¢
✓ Correct! Five cents, please. The nickel never went up in 50 years — and the advice was never once worth it.
✗ Not quite! It’s 5¢ — “The doctor is in.” Lucy held that price for half a century.
NEXT →
06
Snoopy’s tiny yellow best friend went unnamed for years before Schulz finally christened him. What was he named after?
AA brand of birdseed BSchulz’s hometown in Minnesota CThe 1969 Woodstock music festival DA character from a Beethoven opera
✓ Correct! Woodstock got his name in 1970, borrowed straight from the music festival held the summer before.
✗ Not quite! He’s named for the 1969 Woodstock festival — Schulz gave the bird the name in 1970, years after he first appeared.
NEXT →
07
The jazz score for A Charlie Brown Christmas — including the immortal “Linus and Lucy” — was written by which musician?
AVince Guaraldi BDave Brubeck CHenry Mancini DDuke Ellington
✓ Correct! Pianist Vince Guaraldi scored the 1965 special, and network executives were sure the jazz soundtrack would sink it. It became a permanent holiday fixture.
✗ Not quite! It’s Vince Guaraldi, whose trio gave Peanuts its unmistakable sound.
NEXT →
08
Schulz drew every Peanuts strip himself for nearly 50 years. What made the final original Sunday strip — February 13, 2000 — so haunting?
ACharlie Brown finally kicked the football BThe Little Red-Haired Girl was shown at last CIt was the only strip Schulz left unfinished DIt ran the morning after Schulz died
✓ Correct! Schulz died the evening of February 12, 2000 — and his farewell strip, signed off with “Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy... how can I ever forget them,” appeared in papers the very next morning.
✗ Not quite! Schulz died on February 12, 2000 — hours before his own farewell strip ran in the Sunday papers.
SEE YOUR SCORE →
The Doctor Is In · Five Cents, Please Your Peanuts Report Card
⚾
/ 8
Good grief — or good ol’ Charlie Brown? Either way, the football is still there. Wanna try again?
⤴ ONE MORE KICK
Moments like these show an adoration for Schulz's legacy by newspaper cartoonists over the decades, demonstrating a real grasp on the sweetness that comes with perfectly capturing an otherwise tragic moment with love and reverence. Schulz has been gone now for over 26 years, but his characters are still beloved by generations, even exceeding those around for the story's original run. His characters are a major part of the broader pop culture lexicon, much to his expressed surprise in that final interview. Peanuts is missed daily, but in reality, it's not truly gone, with 50 years of content to be enjoyed, re-read, and inspire future animated adaptations and tributes.
Created by Charles M. Schulz
Movie(s) The Peanuts Movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown's All Stars!, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown
Character(s) Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Marcie (Peanuts), Peppermint Patty, Woodstock
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